Broken Smile
by yiranY
Summary: Sometimes I wonder about what a world with humans would be like. Or about how my life would change if I were born an Axew or Charmander rather than a Trapinch. Or maybe about what's going on in Spire's mind, if I'm feeling selfish. Unless we're confronted by the Salamence, in which my mind has only space for one thing: the desire to survive. – Completely Original –
1. Part I: The Altruistic Guardian

**Author's Note:** Hi. This story is going to be long and convoluted. But I am the epitome of procrastination, so that may take a while. Mature themes will increase in frequency as the story goes along. I don't post many author notes (mainly since it breaks the flow of this story and flow is quite important in this story, being first person present tense and all), because I'm bad at them. So, uh, enjoy!

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"_Don't go, daddy," I wail, sobbing and hiccupping._

"_Sorry, Nova. I have to go."_

"_But I don't want you to go, daddy. I like it with you." It's so unfair. Vie and Hale and Jay and the others get to have their dad… but I don't? Why?_

"_Nova, do you want to live in a place where you can grow up without being afraid of anything? Daddy has to go and make a place that." Suddenly, he takes off in a flash of green and red, leaving a trail of sand behind._

_Words choke in my throat, he screams, everything becomes red, then white, then-_

Black with a tint of orange.

I open my eyes, and find that my face is very wet. I ignore that, since the sun will dry it up soon anyway. Instead, in an attempt to forget about the nightmare, I blink again, becoming more aware of my surroundings.

I think I was wandering around…? My surroundings will tell me what I was doing… hopefully. The sun's shining down from the sky, heating up the vast and empty desert. It's really uncomfortable, especially to us Trapinch who sport a darker skin than our adult forms. The shade of our skin absorbs more heat, according what our science Educator, Perspia, told us.

And then I remember what I'm here for. And the events that came before it.

When Mum told me to go and hunt this morning, I tried my best to change her mind to afternoon instead. But she told me I needed to be able endure the heat. Well, I don't particularly see what use that will have, but I did so anyway, because parents are always right… Now I know that it was a mistake. Being hot is a really unpleasant experience.

So the instant I spot a tree in the distance, I hurry over to it.

I find Vie resting there, eyes closed. She's my best friend, because of an incident that involved Mum saving her egg from a crazy Cacturne. I don't really care about all the life-debt stuff, I just know that she's my best friend, and that I can tell my feelings to her. The lighter colour of skin, only just darker than the colour of the sand that surround us, makes her easily told apart from the rest of us Trapinch.

"Hey," I say as I enter the shade.

"Oh, hi Nova," she says back, just noticing me. "So, you gave up on trying to hunt too?"

"Yeah," I reply, feeling better in the tree's shadow.

"I don't get why Mum told me to do it now. I mean, isn't it better to hunt in the evening? When the sun's down?"

"My mum said it was because they want us to practice in the heat."

"That's stupid." She complains. "_My_ mum didn't tell us. She should stop listening to my brother's stupid appeals."

"Wait, where's Hale?" I ask Vie, noticing his absence.

"You know how he says he actually _likes_ the heat," she says. "I don't think he does. If he actually does, then he's crazy. And I'd have to kill him because I don't want a crazy twin brother to ruin my reputation."

I let out a chuckle. It's a bit strange how we don't get along with Hale as well as Vie considering Mum saved his egg too. It's probably because he's too full of energy, while Vie and me are both more interested in intellectual stuff.

But intellectual stuff isn't welcomed by the Shallows, which is located in the west of Aeride Desert. We're the main supplier of food in the Flygon inhabited areas – which is only two major settlements, the Shallows and Lyrl – while the Flygon from Lyrl supply us with manufactured goods. I don't get how they are able to make bags, medicine, and bricks, but I can only hope it's able to stand the attacks from the occasional Garchomp and Salamence raids, because they are useful enough.

I wince at the sudden loud voice that comes out of nowhere.

"If you don't get up, I'm going to leave you here and tell Silex you missed History."

Maybe I dozed off again, but that wakes me up. History's one of my favourite subjects, after all. The Humans I have never seen, they fascinate me.

"Next time, don't yell in my ear," I say, annoyed at Vie.

She gives me a complete smile. "Don't give me a reason to."

We crawl to the brick building together, and it turns out that Vie was right; we're almost late, judging by the somewhat urgent tone Silex, our History Educator, addresses us, as well as the room full of Trapinch.

"Quick," she says. Just one look of her, and it's evident that she's not in her prime; one of her wings is tattered, her body full of little scars (from hunting?), and most noticeably, her skin greyer than most Flygon we see. Her eyes are a bit blue behind the red thing – I forgot what it's called – too.

I find a seat – which is a small dent in the relatively clean ground – next to Hale (who has about the same colour of shell as Vie) at the front, and Vie settles next to me.

"So," Silex starts, "Who can remember what we did last lesson?"

As if on cue, my foreleg's raised. "Yes, Nova?"

"We studied about the history of our region approximately… four centuries ago, when a unknown disaster wiped out the Humans in Evitern." My systematic reply earns me a few haughty glances from around me, as usual. I try my best to ignore them and listen to Silex.

"Correct. However, while the Humans perished, the Pokémon survived," Silex continues her lecture, slightly disappointing me that this session wouldn't involve Humans. Oh well, I guess our own history's pretty interesting too. I'll need to revisit them sometime anyway.

"And none of the Pokémon were surprised when the dragons came on top. They were on the top of the food chain, like in the old times. War was waged again by the most powerful, Salamence, Garchomp, and Dragonite." She stops for a breath. "However, one thing changed the Pokémon did not expect themselves to do was to stumble upon Human technology. Some were designed for Humans, which meant we couldn't handle them, such as paper, cutlery, and electricity. However, the gifted dragons were able to utilise other materials to great effects, including bags, wood, and glass…"

I'm completely engrossed in her words, and as class continues it's apparent that I'm the only one that has a chance of answering any possible questions she may ask. I vaguely notice Vie's attention starting to waver. I don't see what else she could pay attention to though, unlike Hale, who's currently secretly drawing a flower with a stick.

Silex starts marking the wall behind her, showing a vague timeline of the things she said.

"…And then came the Hydreigon, who cast a dark shadow upon all the dragons. They used an unknown power to defeat the warring dragons. Their regime was filled with darkness; the other dragons all lived in fear, but the Hydreigon mostly ignored them if they didn't do anything. However, they segregated the dragon tribes. This means we have a lack of sources to study from. All that is known that they suddenly disappeared, and then the three dragon clans go back to war."

"Next week, I'm going to ask you questions, so I hope you memorised what I've said. Class dismissed."

I'm a little upset, but the others are literally breathing sighs of relief (I doubt they memorised half of what she said, though). I crawl out of the room and notice a few Vibrava waiting, perhaps for History class too. They're so lucky; our classes are only 20 minutes, while they get a full hour. At least that gives me a reason to look forward to growing up, though.

I spot Hale next to his father, and I recall something within myself. Suddenly, I want to see Mum. I try and sneak home but Vie grabs my attention by flinging a pebble at me with her mouth, which hits me square on the head.

"Ow," I say rather loudly, "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes. Now, shall we go and play a game of pebble dodge?" she asks.

Pebble Dodge's a game Vie invented, which involves trying to fling pebbles at your opponent with your mouth. I didn't see how that'd be any use practically, but I reluctantly agreed to try it out. And now I'm going to pay the price.

"Err, I want to go ho-"

"Oh come on! Just one game! Pretty please?"

Just by the look in her eyes, I can't say no.

"Fine. One game only."

We decide to use the pebble she just flung at me, which means that I got the first fling. And I hit her on the leg.

"Revenge," I say with a complete smile.

"Oh really," she retorts as she flings the pebble right back at me, sending a dull wave of pain through my back.

After about a dozen exchanges of almost always hitting each other (because we're kind of bad at dodging), I remember my word of "one game only", and insist I go back home – which is my mum's cave next to a lot of others, in the edge of a rock that stands out in the desert. Vie gets a bit depressed, but she'll get over it. So I ignore her and crawl back home.

Upon arrival, I smell blood, which is a good thing. As I head further inside I find Mum handling some Sandshrew meat. She's pretty much indistinguishable from other Flygon, with her upright stature, slim forelegs (I think they call it arms), plus bulging red over the eyes below the long antennae, but the clear scar in her left wing, but her unique smell and mysterious feeling of safeness tells her apart.

"Oh, Nova, you're just in time," she says, "I was just about to store this meat. Since you're here, you can eat it."

Mum's a professional hunter, like most of the other Flygon here, which meant we never had a shortage of food. It also meant that they tried to make their offspring hunters, which was bad news for Vie and me. I suppose I could try and convince them to allow us to become Transporters or Educators (especially the latter), but I think I'd be more convincing if I was a bit older. At least a Vibrava, which was the juvenile form of us, although I'm pretty sure if I'm not going to be able to take as much pebbles from Vie if I lose the shell. (Not like we'd continue playing it.)

I gobble down the meat, and when I'm done, I go over and snuggle in beside her.

As I settle down, I call out the reason as to why I was so impatient to return home. "Mum? Can you tell me some stories?"

"Of course, Nova. I heard from Skein that there was some commotion about a Salamence Prince-"

"No, Mum. I mean about Daddy," I say quietly.

"Oh," she replies. "Oh," she repeats in a quieter and stabler voice, as if she's just realised what I said.

I've not learned much about dad, since Mum was always didn't want to talk about him. One of the only things I can remember she telling me is that dad named me Nova, because he wanted me to shine like a star. Not that I want to myself. Another one of them is that he was dead before I hatched, and he died to save me, or something. She doesn't really tell me anything.

So when she starts speaking, I'm startled. But it's only for a second, as I am immediately gripped by her story.

"I met him in Lyrl," she says in a voice that indicates that she's trying to remember something, "Oh, not the Lyrl you know. Your favourite class's History, so you know the war between the Garchomp and Salamence, right? Back when the Dragonite hadn't retreated due to casualties yet, things were a lot more bloody. No Flygon settlements were permanent; we had to keep moving, otherwise we'd be demolished by the war. So Lyrl was constantly moving, and they didn't have advanced tools made then."

She stops as I start to take in the information. "So, where was Lyrl? Back then?"

"It was near here, the Shallows. And I didn't remember my parents; I'm not sure what happened to them, probably just the war. So I was hunting for some food near here for myself… and I made the mistake of trying to get a big Skarmory… a metal bird. I still killed it, but not before it broke my left leg and wing. I couldn't move. So I ate it, and hoped my wing would heal before I got too thirsty. The desert's still very big, and the chances of someone finding you are very slim. The injury wasn't too painful, but apparently it was very severe, because it didn't mend, and eventually I did get too thirsty.

"I remember trying to find a pond, even with my bad leg slowing me down. I'm not sure what I was thinking at the moment, probably because I was about to die or something, but the instant I spot a cave I just limped into it. The problem was, someone was already there. Your dad, of course. I got really scared because I thought he'd attack me, but he let me in after a small scold."

I barely catch my mouth before I could blurt out "Why would you be scared of him?" but the action makes my head move a bit. And mums don't miss anything their children do.

"What is it, Nova?"

"Well, Mummy, you said that you were scared he'd attack you… why were you scared?" I ask timidly, for some reason afraid that she'd get mad at me.

Which is why she startled me when she gave out a small chuckle. "He was bigger. And stronger. And… and…" Suddenly, she goes quiet, like what she usually does when I ask questions about dad.

I feel a need to comfort her, because I asked the question in the first place. "It's all right, Mum. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I climb on to her back. "You've told me enough for today," I say lightly.

She doesn't respond. I feel her shaking slightly, and suddenly I feel like crying. But I don't remember much more as I drift into sleep on top of her.

It's been a long time since I've had a dream that I remember, because usually there's nothing too interesting to dream about. But after hearing Mum's incomplete gush of information, I'm left to myself to make the rest up.

I see Mum, who looks exactly the same as now, except with a broken leg and tattered wing, limping towards a cave. I try and help her forward, but I don't affect her in any way despite the effort. Gradually, she reaches the cave, and suddenly, a dazzling figure emerges: a Flygon a head higher than Mum, looking pristine, all colours more vivid than others. I can vaguely make out a scent similar to Mum, which makes me feel safe. He walks forward, and shouts something.

"Nova, dear, please get off. Mummy has to go hunt."

I wake with a jolt, realising I'm still on her. Her head is twisted in a weird manner, looking at me. "The sun's already risen. Why don't you find Vie or something? And practice some hunting, too. I'm not going to be with you forever."

I yawn and jump off her after deciding against commenting on her head. I don't even remember the dream and conversation until she's gone.

I settle down and try and wake up completely, as my mind turns to my father. So many questions answered, but so many questions not. What was he like? Why did he help Mum? And most importantly, why, and how, did he die?

I crawl out of our cave, not knowing where to go. The only schedule most hatchlings (although it's been 11 years already since I hatched) have is that they have to arrive at the brick shack for daily education when the sundial – another manufactured good from Lyrl – strikes two. Well, I'll just find Vie. I always find her when I'm bored. I'm strolling ahead sluggishly until I bump into Hale, maybe on purpose. I'm not sure.

"Watch out – oh, it's you," he says. What's with the look on his face? Angry? Worried? Agitated? What did I do to him, anyway? Bumping into him shouldn't offend him _that_ much, shouldn't it? After a short period of silence, he starts speaking again. "Vie was upset yesterday. About you."

Me? What did I do to her? Well, I did go home after not even a minute of… _Oh_, I say in my mind. She did seem a bit upset when I left her yesterday, but I was pretty sure that she'd be fine the next day. Great. Now I need to apologise to her.

"Where is she?" I ask timidly, somehow afraid that he would unleash his anger on me. He's not usually like this.

"She went to find you," says Hale, not really paying much attention, "so she's probably at your cave or something." With that, he started walking in another direction, muttering about females being oversensitive. I'm tempted to counter his words, but judging by his personality (or at least all that I know of it) he's likely to make a comment about me myself, so I ignore him and try and find Vie. She's pretty much my only close friend, and I really didn't mean to upset her yesterday.

I find her all cheerful near Mum's cave, which troubles me slightly. My prepared apology doesn't come out, and she's already talking.

"Hey, Nova, do you want to go and pick some lilies from the lake for the pond? I brought a sack for it!"

It's then I figure out that Hale just pulled a prank on me. Maybe he's friendlier with me than I originally thought.

"Sure," I reply cheerfully.

We crawl in a stroll to the lake. These are both rare in deserts and necessary for survival, so we visit them often. I start mentioning daddy and all the stuff I feel about him. She stays fairly quiet during my speech, and tries to brighten up the mood without me noticing.

"Well, aren't you lucky! Both my parents are alive and I have nothing to guess about them!" says Vie, unusually bright, with a statement like _that_. It bothers me. I mean, who would complain about their parents being alive?

Then I recall what Hale said. It wasn't a joke after all. That and I just realised that the lilies will die if we pick them up, so putting them in the pond at the centre won't make it look pretty. It was just some excuse she made up. I don't use my formal apology and simply get out "I'm sorry about yesterday" weakly.

Silence.

"Um, do you want to go play another game of pebble dodge?" I ask, trying to break the unnerving tension.

"Sure!" Her voice returned to its former joyful state. I'm confused as to what's exactly going on until a dark black rock hits me between the eyes.

"Vie, you're my best friend. Tell me what's wrong," I say with as much force as I am able to gather.

More silence.

I'm about to say something again, until she starts speaking, in a strange shaky voice that is far from her usual cheeriness.

"I had nothing to do yesterday. I wanted to play with you," she says, "but you never get in play fights. So… I wanted to do something less harmful. Like pebble dodge." She seems on the verge of crying now.

Why do dragons always cry in front of me? I hate it. Because when they do, most of the time I start doing it as well.

Trying to hold back my own tears, I try and make the apology sound more sincere. "Vie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do it – and I didn't know that you were, um, hurt about it. Look, I'm really, really sorry," I'm getting desperate to make her happy as she continues to sob, even if just slightly. "Vie! I'll play with you – and I mean fighting! Okay?"

I dreaded, and still dread, fighting. Vie convinced me to try it once when I was 6 years old. I can't remember much other than the fact that I was completely rubbish at it, and she hurt me quite seriously by biting my leg too hard. It's not hard to be afraid of something when your best friend breaks your leg in one bite.

Her sobs gradually cease, and speaks with a mild happiness I can't really tell. "I'm going to hold you to that, you know."

I don't really care, as long my best friend's happy. She won't go as hard on me again, anyway. She doesn't want me to stay in my cave for a few weeks, because she won't be able to go out with me, and the cave will probably smell really, really bad.

I lay there, listening to her talk about how she saw Hale playing with his older brothers; and got really sad and started crying. Hale noticed it, and asked her about it. When she didn't respond, he automatically assumed it was my fault – and even though I wouldn't want to admit it to him, he's right. Vie's way too cheerful to get sad about something that's not about me, which just shows how close we are.

I envy Hale sometimes, too. I'm not even sure how many friends he usually hangs out with, but most of the time he's laughing like Vie. But I have no siblings, because my dad died too early, and no one else would take a nursing mother as a mate. Vie is stuck in a family of males, but that's not the main reason why she's left out; after hurting me, she pretty much stopped fighting too, while Hale continued with his brothers. Gradually, we were more and more isolated from the rest of her siblings, and perhaps the gender gap helped that a bit (although that would be kind of stupid, since I'm male).

"That's actually a pretty good-looking rock," she says after she finishes telling her thoughts, pointing at the black rock she flung at me. It's kind of like a rod but the ends gradually thin out into a point, which makes it look like it is a bar with two cones on the end. It's also symmetrical, which is good most of the time, says our Arts Educator.

The lake's water is clear, so I'm able to examine myself. I'm not really special or anything, just the generic four legs on the ground with a big head, but the most noticeable parts you could use to tell me apart is the scar on my foreleg and the really weird and pale blue spot to the left of my mouth that isn't really obvious unless you look closely. My shell also looks a bit paler than the others, but nowhere as near as pale as Vie and her family.

We drink quite some water from the lake, and I bring the rock back, clasping it in my mouth. We go to my cave to drop it off.

"What now?" I ask.

"Hang on… the sun's over on the lake's side. Which means it's afternoon, and we need to go to class."

"Oh," I manage to say after processing her words. "We have- oh great, I forgot to revise for the science test. AND IT'S YOUR FAULT!" I gather as much force into my voice as I can, but if she's affected, she doesn't show it. I didn't expect her to, anyway. We do random, cheesy stuff together like that. Maybe that's what makes us so close.

"Stop it, I know you're not really angry," she says with a wide grin. "Why don't we do it now? So we'll be prepared and you'll regain your sanity."

"Okay," I respond, not knowing and caring what "sanity" meant. Science is more important than Language… at least for me.

On the way to the sundial (which was next to the learning place), we revise the lifespan of different species of dragons. Flygon, 160. Salamence, 170. Haxorus, 180. Charizard, 150. Garchomp, 170. Dragonite, 190. Not like the 20 years or so really matters. I'm tempted to add Humans, 130, but I stop because, really, no one but me cares. So I add another one.

"Sceptile, 160."

She gives me a strange look. "Why'd you say that?"

"Well, they are dragons, aren't they?"

"No they're not." She says it so fast and so harshly I flinch a bit.

"Does it matter if they're dragons or not? They might be on the test either way."

"Why would they be on the test if they aren't dragons?"

I don't really get why, but everyone seems to look down on non-dragons. Like that baby Drilbur I found when I was out with Mum. It was really cute, with a few pieces of shiny stuff on its skin here and there, but I didn't get long to admire it before Mum snapped its neck. I felt really sad for it, but she said that it was because we needed food. My stomach ignored my brain and I ate it, mind wandering off to something else.

But now that I'm older, I'm thinking about it more. Every time I try and hunt, I can hear them talking to me. And I just can't stand killing something just like that. I'm only 11 so I can use my age as an excuse. But Vie's had her first kill already, and if I don't do something soon, dragons will start asking me questions.

It is kind of weird, because despite our bad relations due to the Salamence raids, we still regard them higher than our prey. When referring to… beings in general, we use the term "dragons". Which is kind of ironic with Trapinch not even looking remotely draconic.

It's one of the few things I don't talk to Vie to, at least not directly. I'm not even sure why, really. It's probably because I know what her answer would be, and that I wouldn't like it.

"Dunno. Whatever, one more won't kill you," I finish as the building comes into sight.

We get in, and are not surprised that we're the only one there, aside from a few other Trapinch we recognise. We sit down, go over the ages of dragons again, talk about how Hale is insane (I still don't know what that means), and revise again. By the time we're done, most Trapinch from our normal classes are there, including Hale and our Educator, Perspia.

She's just like Mum, bar the scar on the wing. If it wasn't for their voice and their smell, I'd probably not be able to tell them apart easily.

She starts speaking. "I am aware that all of you are aware of the examination of your knowledge regarding the lifespan of certain species of dragons. Examination will commence shortly after the papers are given. Mark each answer with approximately 10 millilitres of muddy water, which you can create using your saliva and the mud on the floor, which is present in every visible areas of floor in this room," she finally finishes, voice a lot more bland than Silex.

I'm not sure about half the words she said, but at least I get the part about using spit to make answers. I drool some on the ground, and use my foreleg to mix it. Lucky we just went to the lake, or I might not have had enough water in me.

Some small part of me inside makes me feel uncomfortable with spit. But I ignore it and focus back on Perspia.

She scolds a few of us (including Hale) for spitting on the dirt mount, and, blows a little fire on them, and instructs them to spit on the side. I'm not sure why, but I feel like grinning as Hale only manages to get out a little. Maybe it's for making Vie cry… even if that was my fault. So maybe it's because he told me about it? Whatever. I need to focus on the- here it comes.

Perspia hands me the paper, then moves along to the others. I start printing mud on the correct answers easily.

I see Sceptile on the paper, and make a mental note to bring this up to Vie later. The Educator put them on the test; they must be at least of some importance, right?

I go through the list of dragons, and detail out their ages. Some of the questions have an extra part about their maturation ages, which was only mentioned in passing in class; thankfully, I'm the type that listens, and smudge the correct box beside the numbers.

_At what age do Dragonair undergo metamorphosis to Dragonite?_

Easy. _20-25._

_At what age do Trapinch undergo metamorphosis to Vibrava?_

Seriously, they should expect us to know about our own race. _12-17._

_At what age do Shelgon undergo metamorphosis to Salamence?_

Well, I'm not sure about this one, but I think _17-23 _seems plausible.

_At what age do Charmeleon sprout wings and mature into Charizard?_

Finally some difference in the wording of the question. I mark _15-20_ and look at the final question.

_Bonus Question: Which of the following organisms mature the fastest and slowest psychologically?_

I don't even really get what "psychologically" means, but it sounds like something to do with the mind; I've heard of this type of Pokémon called "psychics" before who use their mind to do funny stuff, and this word sounds similar enough.

I check the two columns of _Matures the Fastest_ and _Matures the Slowest_. Both have exactly the same list of dragons. And I see an extra option; Humans.

Wow, today must be my lucky day. Because of my extra interest in Humans, I know that they mature slower, but don't live as an adult a long as dragons. But their mind grows up a lot faster, apparently. I don't even remember the source of this information, but it should be accurate enough. I mark _Humans_ on the column of _Matures the Fastest._

I briefly wonder why they used such simple words, such as "Slowest" rather than some other fancy word. It's probably because the question's hard, so they cut us some work by using simpler words… right?

I'm getting distracted again. The rest of the listed things are all various dragons. How should I know from experience if I've only interacted with others of the same species? The Vibrava still seem pretty childish to me… whatever. It's just a bonus question, I won't get too bad even if I get it wrong. I mark _Flygon_ and glance up at Perspia now that I've finished. She's watching us intently, and perks up as she sees me and my marked paper.

"Five minutes to go," she announces. Her practice is to give a few minutes after the first person finishes, and it turns out I'm the first one.

Hale gives me a dirty glance for shortening his time but I don't really take notice of it. I go over the test once, and then lie down on my stomach. And then I close my eyes, letting my mind wander to things I like to think about. Like dad.

But in no time, Perspia tells us that the test is over, and she takes them in. We'll get the results in next week's lesson, and I'm pretty confident I'm going to get one of the top marks, if not the top mark.

We file out of the room, with some others chattering about the test. I see the cluster of Vibrava waiting, again. I bet they get tests with more interesting info.

Another dull pain hits me right on the forehead. Vie's flinging pebbles again.

After last night's talk, the desire to know more about dad has faded, so I don't mind spending the rest of the afternoon with Vie.

I pick up the pebble and fling it right back at her, hitting her just above her left eye.

"Well, I hit somewhere more dangerous to our body than you. So I win."

"Keep on speaking," she replies, as the pebble comes flying back at my head.

It's not really dangerous to us, of course. Our shell is very hard, even our eyelids, to compensate for the low crawling speed most Trapinch have. As much as I want to get out of this shell and have longer lessons, losing it means I'll be a lot more fragile. But I suppose I'll be able to fly and move a lot faster, so not as much will possibly threaten me.

Before I notice it, we're out in the wild already, the Shallows only a bunch of noisy stuff in the distance, the lone tree I dozed off next to from yesterday right next to us. And apparently Vie was thinking about something too, because she didn't say much either.

Which is why I'm a little surprised when she speaks. "Nova, who are you going to pick as your mate?"

"What do you mean?" I ask back, slightly confused at the sudden question.

"Well, I heard Hale talking abut it the other day. He said he wanted Jay to be his mate, but she just giggled and crawled away. So, are you going to be my mate?"

A mate? Well, I don't see why not. She's my best friend, and I don't know who else I'd choose anyway.

But before I get to say anything, everything suddenly becomes darker. I blink, and realise that we're covered in some sort of shadow, because Vie and the ground around us are the only other dark things. The darkness goes away as I look up.

And I see dozens of Salamence, flying towards the Shallows. Complete smiles printed on their faces. Chanting a minatory chant that tells me they're seeking blood.


	2. Chapter 2

Minatory. What does it mean? I don't remember where I got it, or why I even mentioned it. But that's not what I should be worrying about right now.

I drag Vie into the shadow of the tree as fast as I can.

"What is wrong with yooouuuuu…" Her last word stretches as she spots the flock of Salamence. "What the Hydreigon is _that_?"

We haven't experienced any raids before, so I'm not sure what to do. Actually, that's a lie. We have. I've never actually seen Salamence raids myself, because they're all at night when we're inside our caves sleeping, but I've heard the discussion of it afterwards amongst the adults, and the words weren't pretty. And I've heard enough to know that they never come in this quantity. But that still doesn't give me the solution as to what to do.

"I don't know, Vie." I've only just realised what this means. They're going to attack the Shallows. I can't let Vie go angry and go back because we're safe here. "I mean, I do know, it's a bunch of Salamence. But I don't know what we're supposed to do."

"What're they here for?" She doesn't seem scared. She seems angry. "Why do they always bother us?"

"Get back here!" I yell at her as she tries and go out. "What if they see you?"

"I don't care! What's their problem? We just try to just… just live, and they come and raid us!"

Where does she get all these thoughts from? Her parents? She's not old enough to think about things like war! Wait, I'm actually younger than her, so I guess I have no right to say something like that. But still, she needs to calm down.

"Vie, we can't do anything. Look, stop trying to pull, my leg's hurting! The point is, they will do much better than us at defending the Shallows! The adults, I mean." She seems to calm down (thankfully) and lies down and sighs.

"So, what now?" she says in an overly casual tone, "Since you don't want me to do anything."

Well, something cheerful like pebble dodge is out of the question. "Talk… I guess." What else?

She gives out a kind of shrilly laugh that makes me feel uneasy. "So do you wanna be my mate or not?"

Even if the answer is no, I wouldn't say it because of the stress she's under. But the answer's yes anyway. "Yes, of course."

"So, what do you think we'll name our hatchlings?"

Isn't that a bit early? Whatever. Now isn't the time to get fussy over small details. "I don't know. What would you name them?"

Shouts of alarm fill the air before she gets to speak.

"They're there, then." Her voice is so tired and helpless it makes me cringe. I don't want her to feel like this.

"Don't worry. We've passed previous raids before, so it'll be okay, won't it?" That's a lie. I never knew how many dragons were in the other raids.

At least she seems convinced. She begins, "Yeah, you're ri-" and she's interrupted by a scream.

I can't help but think that it's her mum. Or my mum. The thought alone makes me myself want to go. But I'd be of no use, so I stop myself.

"_Okay_, you said?" she says in a mocking tone.

"Alright, just put your claws over our ears and shut your eyes. Do it!" I try and convince her. "I'll tell you if something really bad happens. We'll be fine."

She gives something like a defeated sigh and does what I tell her to.

Now that Vie's calmed down, I look back at the Shallows. There's not much fighting for some reason; maybe the Salamence are going for the food, rather than trying to kill Flygon or get territory. Finally some good news, even if it doesn't mean much if these screams continue.

Eventually, I begin to feel that I can't take it either. So I move next to Vie and do the same as her. She seems to understand, and shuffles a bit closer. Of course she does, she has more family members there than I do.

But that doesn't mean I don't care about Mum. I can't stop visions of my mum getting torn apart by Salamence entering my mind. _Better that than it happening in real life_, I think bitterly.

A while passes with both of us staying silent until I sense something land next to us. Then I realise I didn't watch the Salamence like I told Vie. I panic for a moment, but then I smell the scent of the dragon, and it isn't foreign; it's surprisingly familiar, and makes me feel safe.

I take my claws of my eyes. _"Mum?"_

"Oh thank goodness you're alright," she says in a tone that I've never heard her use before. "I thought… never mind. Get Vie up, will you?"

Mum seems to be breathing in short and fast breaths, so I assume she's just flew really fast. I let her catch her breath as I sink into the joy of the realisation that my mother's safe.

"Vie?" I ask her. Then I notice she still has her ears clamped. I try and pull one off, but it's surprisingly forceful. I have no choice but to yell really loudly. "Vie, my mum's here!"

She gets up after a moment, and it doesn't take me much to notice that she's still shaking. Of course. I'm so selfish. "And I'm sure you're parents will be too."

"Yeah, they will," she says in a voice that tells me she's not really convinced. She turns to Mum . "Hi, Nova's mum. So, over yet?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I was out hunting, but then I heard the noise. I tried to fly low to avoid attention and happened to run into you two," Mum explains. "And since there aren't any more screams, we can assume either the raid's over or they're all dead."

"Don't say that!" I yell at her – maybe the first time in my life – thinking about what Vie'd be feeling after that sentence.

"Sorry," she says with a surprising amount of sincerity. "I shouldn't have said that."

Somehow, that just makes things more awkward.

"So, do we go back now?" I ask Mum before the silence gets too long.

"I was wrong in saying that the raid is over. Because if it was, then we'd see the Salamence coming back. And no, that doesn't mean they're all dead either," she adds quickly, "they might be negotiating or something. I think it's safer for you two to stay here. I'll go check what's going on."

No, Mum's alive, and I'm not going to let her go into danger again. "Don't go, Mum. I don't want you to."

"I'll be fine, dear. Look out for Vie, will you?" she says quickly as her wings start to move.

"Don't!" I yell, but she's already gone. I'm left furious, but I can't really do anything about it.

I turn around to look at Vie who has been silent all this time, only to find her in tears. Again.

"Vie… your family will be fine. There weren't many screams, were there?"

I don't know why, but I don't feel like crying. As selfish as it sounds, it's probably because mum's safe. I'm still mad at her, but I have to put that aside, because Vie's crying.

"N-not true." She stutters in her words. "Dragons d-don't always scream w-when they g-get…"

She gives another big sob and stops speaking.

"Fine, cry then. It's a release, and you'll feel better afterwards." I don't know where that comes from either, but I say it. I really need to improve my memory, with all of these things I say which I can't remember where they came from.

Oddly, Vie stops crying instead. "N-nah. It won't do anything. Let's talk about something."

The mood becomes strangely lighter. So we talk about stuff we usually talk about, like the test ("Well, I guess Sceptile are dragons, then"), the black rock I found ("It's back in Mum's cave"), and trying to pull a prank on Hale ("Get one of those bucket things and pour water all over him!") which Vie was much more enthusiastic about than me. I still agree to talk about it with her though, because it's still quite funny picturing a wet Hale, even if we're not going to carry it out.

A while passes with no more mention of the Salamence. I try and forget about it, but it's always nagging me in the back of my mind, even if it's just a small tug. But we seem to have an unspoken agreement to… cheer up, I guess. I'm not even angry at Mum anymore.

We're still talking when I spot a bunch of Salamence flying back in the direction they came from – south, I think. Vie doesn't seem to notice it, so I don't mention it either. They gradually fade out into the distance as I try to keep her attention.

It turns out that I don't have to try very long, because Mum comes back, looking grave. I know what this means, and it seems like that Vie does too. But she doesn't burst into another fit of sobs like I expect. Instead, she murmurs quietly, "Who survived?"

Mum seems to get the question. "Your mum. Barely. Cole. Bane. No one could find Hale. That's it."

So 2 of her brothers and her mum survived. She has 5 brothers, counting Hale, so it's quite a loss. Then there's her dad.

Vie seems to take the news in quite calmly, like he expected it. She gives a just noticeable shake, and her voice shakes only slightly. "Can I go back and see them now?"

"Yeah, it's safe now. Go."

No thoughts of making Hale wet are in my mind anymore. I'm surprised at myself for being genuinely worried about Hale, a Trapinch that I don't even really talk to. But if this is what I'm feeling, what about Vie? How does she hold it in?

I keep on glancing uneasily at her as we begin the trek home – Mum can't carry both of us. She seems to be constantly on the border of bursting, but it never happens. The silence doesn't last long as I arrive at what I recognise to be Vie's parents' cave. I've been there before, and it's a lot larger than Mum's, but other than that there's not really any difference.

Inside, I spot two of Vie's brothers. They're both Vibrava, but there's a subtle size difference. I'm not sure which is which, because I've never really interacted with them before.

"Vie, this is terrible," the bigger one says, "Well, I'm sure you heard what happened… from Shell."

It's weird hearing other Flygon talking about Mum with her name, but I don't comment on it. Really, why do I have to pick up on these small things when half of Vie's family is dead?

"Yes, I told her," Mum says while Vie suddenly starts shaking her head really really hard. "Let her see her mother. It might be her last chance."

The Vibrava crawls towards Vie. "Come on, it'll be all right," he says to Vie, who's now shaking her whole body. She follows him further into the cave, still shaking. I try to follow, but Mum blocks me with an arm as the Vibrava starts speaking again.

"Thanks a lot, Shell. Now that you've got Skein here, my mother's got a better chance of survival."

"Don't mention it, Bane. I'm sure she would too if I got a big cut to my chest. Anyway, I think your family should stay together for now… I'll take Nova away for a moment."

Bane nods, and goes into the cave himself while Mum brings me out.

"Who's Skein?" I ask her the instant we get out of their cave.

"A friend of mine. He specialises in the medical department – basically, healing injuries," she changes her wording after noting the confusion on my face. "I thought you knew him. He's Jay's dad."

"Oh, yeah.' I kind of forgot. Well, there's another profession I can do that's intellectual. Providing I don't get killed by these raids first. "What happened with the Salamence, anyway?"

She puts her claw below her chin, like when Silex does when she's thinking. I still don't get why they do that, but it doesn't really matter right now, does it? "Well, I don't have first-hand experience, but apparently the Salamence weren't as aggressive as expected; they just tried to search everywhere, and any denial of it would lead to them trying to force their way through. It's what happened with Vie's family.

"Vie's father didn't let the Salamence in their cave, so the Salamence attacked him. Sky – Vie's mum – didn't like it, so she joined in, along with two of their sons. Vie, Cole, and Bane were out. I'm not sure about Hale. The Salamence attacked with no mercy, and even though they managed to kill one of the Salamence, the others overwhelmed them. Vie's mum's the only one that was left alive, but not after suffering a claw to the chest.

"Flygon everywhere are discussing about this. It seems like the actual casualties – deaths – weren't that plentiful, about 10 percent or something, because some of us just let the Salamence in. Vie's family got really unlucky. What we're really concerned about is why they came here. Personally I think it's to do with the rumour about the disappeared Salamence Prince, but there's no solid evidence.

"Anyway, what happens now is that because this place is far too unsafe, I think we're all going to move to Lyrl. So we need to get our stuff."

Move to Lyrl? I've never even been there before. The idea of leaving my home I've grown up is kind of… I don't know, but it just doesn't feel right. But I don't argue with her, because I know she's trying to keep me safe.

At least we don't have much to pack. Mum has this box of something that might be a nuisance, but I only have a few things I picked up around the place, some manufactured toys from Lyrl, and some work from school. It seems as if I'm the only one who bothers to keep them, though.

We arrive home, and suddenly another problem enters my mind. "What about Vie?"

"I suppose they'll be moving to Lyrl, too. Actually, I think I might take Vie with us on the trip, because both of her brothers are quite vulnerable out in the wild and they have to fly fast. Even though it means we'll have to walk."

"What about her mum?"

"Oh, Skein told me that her cranial Vena Cava was too badly damaged and that she probably won't survive."

The bland tone Mum uses to address Vie's mum's possible death makes me nervous. I thought that they were good friends? Maybe Mum has experienced too much death that it doesn't affect her too much. Like dad, or her own parents. I didn't even know about her own parents until the talk yesterday, to be honest. I should probably pay more attention to her, because she's my mum, after all.

I get my sack of little objects and go over them. There's the black stone. There's a little book I've read. There's that cube – it's called a void cube, I think – which I used to play with a lot. And there's a really thin twig that's really bendy that Vie gave me for my last birthday. Which was June the 24th, 161. Speaking of which…

"What's the date, Mum?"

"Hm? Oh, let me check…" she searches for some other manufactured good that's in her box. "March the 23rd."

Well, that's 2 months until I can start expecting to crack out of this shell. The thought is inviting, even though I thought my first flight would be over the rocky hills of the Shallows.

I do really hate those Salamence. But if that's what I'm feeling, Vie…

Vie took the death of her family much better than I would have. Maybe because it's bigger (but wouldn't that make it worse?), or maybe because she's just stronger… I don't know. She must be holding in a lot.

"Don't worry, we might be returning here," Mum says as I glance uneasily back at the cave I've lived in for my whole life.

"Are you sure we have to leave, Mum?"

"Nova, it's for our safety. Didn't you see what happened to Vie's family? We have to move… I'm sorry."

It's not her fault. So why is she saying sorry? Maybe she's trying to comfort me. I think she should leave that to Vie.

I don't say anything about it though. I can't really think of what to say. I just put the sack onto my neck, and look at the surroundings. The caves lined up in the side of this rock, the sundial that stands alone in the middle, the lake in the distance. And remember all the memories that come with it.

We arrive at Vie's parents' place. Bane's lying there at the exit, staring at the ground.

"Bane? How is Sky?" Mum asks, clearly talking about Vie's mum.

"Skein said her blood vessels were too damaged." His tone seems bland, just like Mum's. No, he's definitely affected by his mother's death. You can see it in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Why does Mum keep on saying that? It's not her fault. "How's Cole and Vie? Did you find Hale?"

Bane gives a really big sigh and gets up. "Vie tried to knock herself out with a stone, Cole's trying to make sure that doesn't happen. No news of Hale."

"Let me see Vie," I say instantly almost in a commanding tone that I shouldn't be using to someone whose Mum has just died.

"Yeah, go ahead. I have to at least try and find Hale before I leave," he states, still using the bland tone.

"I'll help," Mum adds in, and I hear them talking about where to go as I walk in further into the cave.

"Vie!" I yell. "Are you there, Vie?"

I can't really see where I'm going – there's more light in Mum's cave – so I walk into something. "Ow," I mutter under my breath, until I realise it's the dead body of a Salamence.

I make out a large cut to its neck, which seemed to be the cause of death. The eyes are still open, not full of violence as I expected, but emptiness. And I realise that they die too.

"That's the one that killed dad. Mum killed him afterwards, but then too many Salamence came in."

I turn around. Cole is behind me, staring at the corpse with something I can't grasp. "You called for Vie? She's here." His tone doesn't get any less bland than his brother as he signals with his head towards another tunnel inside the cave. "I think you'll do better at calming her down."

Being not sure what to say, I just nod and crawl in the direction of the tunnel. I see Vie bashing her head on the wall, and beside her is her mother, looking quite peaceful with her claws together at her chest, almost covering the wound. I could have assumed that she was asleep if not for the blood splattered across her torso.

I start to feel down instantly. But I have to make sure Vie stops doing that or she'll actually kill herself.

"Vie? _Vie?_ Answer me!" I say to her, speaking and louder and louder. "Bashing your head on the rock won't help."

She stops, and not even turning around, says, "It does. It makes me forget everything that I don't want to remember."

She's clearly crying now. "Look, Vie, I know you're very sad-"

"No. You. Don't!" Her voice suddenly raises, "You don't know how I feel! Both of my parents dead! Two of my brothers dead! And my twin brother missing!" She turns around to look at me now, and I can see the anger in her eyes which doesn't fit in with the tears. "All because of those stupid Salamence! What do they want!"

I'm tempted to back down a little, but I can't if I want a chance of calming her down. "Vie, listen-"

"I don't want to listen! They're dead, gone forever! I'll never, ever be able to talk to them! Never-"

"Vie!" I shout, and she stops, hopefully for more than just a second. I wait for a moment and she doesn't start, although the glare's still there. "Please listen to me. You're right; I probably don't know how sad you feel. But you need to stop trying to avoid it," I try and say in a both commanding and comforting tone at the same time, "Because avoiding it won't help. Right now, you can't do anything to help them anymore, but you can just stay alive. That would be what they wanted, right?"

I stop to catch a breath, as the anger in her eyes disappear, replaced by sadness. "I don't know what to do, Nova," she says as she crawls towards me, and I nuzzle her. I hope it makes her feel better.

"I just want to kill all those Salamence," she finally says what all of us think, in a voice that is still threatening despite her sobs.

Even though I can feel that I'm not about to cry, I'm getting sadder as every second passes. Staring at the dead body of Vie's mum with her sobbing by my side isn't something you'd do to cheer up others.

I try to stare at the rock floor and not anywhere else. It's surprisingly easy, actually, since it's so dark. As Vie's sobs gradually slow down, I feel the anger at the Salamence too. But for more selfish reasons, like robbing my home from me, rather than the death of family members. What can we do, though? If our parents die fighting them, what chance do we have?

"We can't kill them, Vie," I say. "They're too strong. Maybe when we're older. Let's just… try and stay safe, okay?"

I am half-expecting her to burst and disagree with me, but she just nods, and stops sobbing. "You're right. I shouldn't have shouted at you. I'm sorry."

What's wrong with everyone, apologising all of a sudden? "No, no. Stop apologising. I'd probably be worse off if my mum died. You took it lightly."

Maybe I was too harsh with that (but how?), because she backs away slightly. This is stupid.

"Okay, I probably shouldn't have said that. It's just that everyone starts saying sorry when it's not their fault. I'm s-" Wow, I almost said it myself. I guess I can't really blame them, then. "We'll have to move to Lyrl," I say, changing the topic. "Mum said it's too unsafe here. I already got my stuff." I show her the sack I have.

"Well, I figured something like this would happen." She gives one last look at her mother – I can't even tell her from my own in the dark, because all I smell is Vie – and starts walking out. I follow. "Dad's brother will take care of their… bodies," she says, now using the monotone her brothers are using. "So, any idea where Hale is?"

"Bane and my mum are trying to find him," I tell her. "I'm pretty sure he's okay, though, since the Salamence didn't seem to actively try and aim to harm if we weren't in their way. Mum said that's what she heard from the other adults."

If she knows I'm trying to just comfort her without any actual idea of Hale's condition, she doesn't show it. Instead, she talks about something else. "Why do you have a sack, anyway? I don't see anything worth owning at this point. We don't even understand most of the manufactured goods."

I'm slightly surprised at her not talking about her family anymore, but I don't mention it. "Well, I just like keeping some stuff from when I was little. They remind me of… well, my childhood." Technically, "hatchlinghood" would probably be a more accurate word, but screw word accuracy for the time being. I need to stop Vie from crying again.

"Oh, okay."

I'm not sure how to respond to "okay", so I don't say anything either. I just survey the area over and over again. I think she's doing the same. At least she's not so upset anymore.

But was I right to make her stop crying? Maybe I should let her cry. It's kind of like me denying her some sort of right.

I sigh over this confusion. Whatever. My head hurts.

Vie looks at me for sighing. I brace myself for questions (because I'm not just going to talk to her about it after she forgets- well, _seems_ to forget it), but she just says, "Can I have a look at your sack?"

"Sure." Breathing another sigh of relief, I roll over, and the sack lands onto the ground. When I right myself, Vie is already looking through it. She looks at the book.

"Where did you get this?" she asks.

"Mum got it for me last year."

"I wish my parents gave me this type of stuff, too. Both of them are Hunters, and my whole family was probably going to be one, except for me."

It must be strange to be Vie's parents; they finally got a daughter, yet the daughter doesn't want to do what they would have expected her to.

"Can I read it later?" she asks me.

"Yeah." As if I could say no right now.

"And what's this?" she asks, now fiddling with the cube.

"I think it's a toy. You can turn around the sides, and you have to try and make all the sides the same. It was originally designed for Humans, though, so I didn't really play with it. My claw isn't as, well… I'm not sure about how to describe it, but Humans' hands are a lot more… Um, I can't find the right word for it."

"Nimble? No, that doesn't fit. Doesn't matter, I get what you mean." She puts it aside and continues to check through my bag.

We are still chatting about random things like how bendy that stick is until Mum comes buy.

"Hale?" Vie lets out, her voice differing from the previous chat immediately. It doesn't seem I'll be able to take her mind off this any time soon.

"I think…" she winces a little, "Silex has taken him on a trip to Lyrl."

"Wait, what? Silex?" I blurt out, not sure what I've just heard.

"She's that kind of person, taking care of the frightened children. Anyway, we should go now. We might find Hale in Lyrl."

"Mum, wait a second." I can tell she's hiding something about Silex. "How do you know she's like that? Why is she like that? And why did-" she take Hale with her, but I don't get to ask that because Mum interrupts me, with a very strange blink.

"I know because… because I know things. No more questions, we have to go." She blinks very unnaturally again, turns around, and starts to walk into the distance.

What is she doing? I'm tempted to defy her for a moment, but then I'm reminded of Vie's existence by her packing my stuff into the sack.

"Oh, uh, thanks," I manage to say, feeling awkward for some reason.

"No problem. I think we'll walk now." She heads off to Mum, having used a bland tone that I'm oh-so tired of.

"W-Wait, why aren't you flying us there? Mum?" I ask her, suddenly frightened by their indifference.

Without turning around, she says, "You'll probably fall off. There's two of you. No, flying at lower altitudes won't work either, because the speed will also injure you, not just the fall."

I knew the answer to the question I asked anyway, but that wasn't the point of it. I just want her to look at me again.

Running up to both of them, I start talking again. "What is Silex-"

"Don't mention her in front of me!" Mum turns around with her eyes full of tears, and I see a final attempt to contain them with another blink before they fall out. Then she turns back and storms off.

"I don't think you should ask her more questions. She looks as if she's going to explode," Vie offers weakly.

I don't disagree; I'll have plenty of time to ask her questions about Silex later. But the thing is, what happened between them and why is Mum so sensitive about it?

I'm so stupid. Asking myself questions in my mind will make me blurt them out again. It's best to just follow Mum and talk to Vie about stuff.

"So, do you have any idea why Hale went to Silex?" I ask her, until I realise she's in the front with Mum.

I don't think this trip will be very interesting.

But the thing is, something's really really strange. All of a sudden, my cheerful life has been turned upside down. Mum's cried twice in front of me now, and both times she revealed things she hasn't before, and incomplete too. Why didn't she just tell me when I was younger?

And the Salamence. I doubt my hatred of them will ever reach Vie's level, but I still hate them for doing this. It's as if all of this is their fault. No, it actually is their fault; what else can explain the sudden change of mood in my life?

Well, it's not like I'll be able to kill them all or anything. If I could, the other Flygon would have done so already.

But right now, I have enough to focus on. I run up to them. Mum's tears are gone but she still looks sad, while Vie just looks… emotionless. Without saying anything, I try and give both of them a comforting smile.

And thankfully, both of them return it.

Maybe if I avoid sensitive topics, my life won't turn out too bad after all.

The journey is uneventful (as expected). In the evening, Mum tells us to stay together while she gets this thing from her box as well as some spare wood to light a fire for warmth. Then she goes and hunt. Vie's calmed down and we can talk about her family without her getting too emotional. That's good news; she's getting over it. But most of the time we simply talk about other things.

I haven't mentioned Silex to Mum again. She doesn't seem like she would like it, because she doesn't use the word "dear" as much anymore. But I keep on telling myself I'll have time to talk to her about it, which stops me from blurting it out.

On the night of the second day, I try to fall asleep like I should, but it's kind of hard because I think about so much stuff. Another problem is that I'm between Vie and Mum, and after Vie shuffled a bit closer I'm feeling a bit squashed. I keep my eyes closed but I still feel awake with a clear mind.

I'm not sure how long passed, but I'm woken by a weird crunching noise, like someone eating food. I open my eyes and climb out of the place (a bit hard with Vie tugging on my leg), and I look next to the fire. The Hippopotas that Mum got is missing, and there's a distinct trail that indicates it was dragged towards… I can't see far in the night distance, but I go ahead anyway. The crunching sounds gradually get louder, and the trail leads to behind a rock, where there's a strange orangish light.

I'm anxious to see who's been taking our food. This morning, it was missing as well, but I assumed that Vie or Mum did something to it. But then again, what if it is a really strong Pokémon?

I approach silently from the side and it appears that my worries aren't really needed. I see a small orange lizard, with a round head and a tail that ends in a small flame, nibbling on the remains of the Hippopotas.

Judging by the scent, the lizard is female, but very young. I'm not sure what to do when she turns around.

Her eyes are so… _cute_; there is no other word for it. Even though her maw is a bit bloody. I'm about to ask her why she's here when she screams.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm not here to hurt you!"

No, no, no. She can't scream. If she screams, Mum will wake up, and will kill her for food… I don't want that to happen. I don't want to know the prey alive before it dies. It's a horrible feeling.

But she just screams even more loudly.

I try and get my claw over her mouth, but she's really quick. Throwing a part of the Hippopotas – it's burnt – to the ground, she starts backing off, still facing me and screaming so loudly I think my ears are going to break.

"Stop it!" I back off myself, hoping she would stop if she did that. She doesn't.

"If you don't quiet down, they'll kill you!" I yell at the top of my voice, and for a moment I'm afraid that she didn't hear me… But she does and stops screaming, and ducks down, puts her forelegs onto her head, looking down.

"Get away from here. Don't follow us anymore. You'll get yourself-" I'm in the middle of the sentence when a long wobbly shadow stretches over the sand in front of me, and it start to become larger. And larger.

"Nova? What are you doing?" It's Mum's voice and not Vie's, which is definitely worse.

"Get behind me," I whisper under my breath. She obeys without saying anything, and I turn around to face Mum.

"It's nothing, Mum," I say in the calmest voice I can manage, "I just – just found – I couldn't sleep, because Vie was squishing me too hard." At least that's true.

"Nova, just tell me what happened," she says in a caring tone as she walks closer and closer.

I try and use a tone that is kind of threatening, even though probably doesn't work. "D-don't come over, Mum."

To my surprise, she stops.

"Why?" she asks.

"I – I don't want – just don't, okay?"

"Nova, you can tell me. I'm your mother." She continues forward until she's right in front of me. "Well? What's that light behind you?"

The lizard whimpers.

"NO! There isn't anything behind me!" I shout in a final attempt to protect the lizard, but Mum already seems to know what is going on. I try and make my glare on her as serious as possible. "Don't kill her, Mum."

"Nova… let's look at it- her first, okay?" she asks in such a pleasant tone I almost forget that the lizard's life is in danger.

"Promise me you won't kill her. Please." I try to make my voice louder and fiercer, but I think I sound like a pathetic child begging for some treats.

"Look… alright, Nova. I promise that I won't do anything to… her. Please move now, dear."

I eye her edgily as I shuffle to the side. I'm not sure what the lizard is doing right now, but I hope she's not doing something that will make Mum… attack her.

But Mum doesn't do anything hostile. She just gasps.

"What're you-" What Mum does is just so bizarre I find my mouth frozen.

She just picks up and hugs the lizard.

"Oh what are you doing here, sweetie?"

I'm so confused I don't even react. The lizard seems to feel the same because she's not making much noise. The only thing I hear from her is continued… hissing? Well, maybe squealing with her mouth closed is a more accurate phrase, but that's not what I'm fussed about right now.

"Mum… what… what are you doing?" I blurt out, because I think I might have imploded there if I didn't.

"Poor thing… don't worry, I'm not going to kill her."

Well, I did sort of expect that, her making a promise and all. But I don't feel any joy, because I'm still really confused.

"Thanks… I… what did you just do?"

"Oh, I just comforted her. She seems quite malnourished." Whatever that means, I still don't get why she just picked a random Pokémon up and hugged it.

I hear a yawn. "What… are you… doing?" I turn around, and I find Vie crawling up behind me, giving more yawns between her words.

"I'm not sure, either. Mum, why did you just hug her randomly like that?" Strangely, I form a sentence better with Vie here. But again, it's not the most important thing right now.

"Oh, right. I don't think you two recognise what she is. She's a Charmander, a dragon. I'm not going to eat another dragon."

Oh. That's nice.

Wait.

"That still doesn't explain why you hugged her."

"Well, she's really young, and she doesn't have an adult around her. She's probably in considerable stress, too, because she's really hungry. Does it really matter?" She hugs the Charmander again.

"Then how come she's out here?" I ask again, not answering her question.

"I don't know, Nova. Why are you asking so many questions?" I'm not sure why I'm sending so many questions, actually. Probably because I didn't get to ask Mum about Silex.

"Um, what's going on?" Vie cuts in.

"I found this Charmander taking our food-"

"Wait, what?" Mum interrupts.

"You said she's malnourished-" I say, but I get interrupted again by Vie.

"So that's where the food went yesterday!"

"Do you want to listen to what happened or not?" I ask Vie, because Mum already noticed me and quieted down already. Why are they suddenly so chatty right now?

"Oh, sorry, go ahead," Vie says and lies down.

"Okay, so, I didn't actually see her take the Hippopotas. I realised that someone dragged it away, and I followed the trail. Then I found her and she screamed and I tried to make her calm down so… so that she wouldn't wake you two up. But she did in the end." No, I'm not going to tell them how I feel about those non-dragons, because they'd just laugh at me. Well, not laugh, but at least they will try and make me not think that way. I think Mum already kind of knows, though…

"So, what are we going to do with her?" Vie says, although she doesn't notice me flinch. That's the type of question you ask about dealing with something that's… disposable.

"I think she'll stay with us. What's your name, sweetie?" Mum says again in a sweet tone.

None of us respond to this fact. I think it might be better with more company… but that means another mouth to feed. Whatever, Mum's the hunter, she decides, not me.

I glance at Vie, and she doesn't seem to disagree, either. Or does she? I don't know.

Meanwhile, the Charmander continues her muffled squealing and not answering Mum at all.

"She might speak if you put her down," says Vie.

"Nah, I couldn't get her to speak either," I add.

"Why don't you two go to sleep, I'll make sure she's fine." Mum walks away, and even though I really want to help, I know I'm not going to crawl as fast as she walks.

Vie knows too. "Well, if she doesn't want us in the middle of this, she won't." She gives another big yawn. "Why did you check the food in the middle of the night, anyway?"

"I- I couldn't sleep, because… well, I couldn't."

"Just tell me, or I'm not going to fall asleep again," she says in a tired tone. I doubt what she said is true though, because she looks as if she'll fall asleep in 3 seconds.

"Well… you were kind of squishing me. And it was kind of uncomfortable."

"Oh… sorry, I was dreaming about Mum dying or something. I forgot."

Wait, what? How is she talking so casually about this? Maybe it's because she's half-asleep… well, I don't want her to get all upset again, so best get her asleep. Somehow.

"Oh, um, then I don't mind. You squishing me, I mean."

"Brrr hhh" is her answer.

I find myself yawning, too. Maybe I should sleep, too.

But Vie worries me. I'm so stupid. I should have noticed earlier; you simply don't shrug off 4 dead family members like that, and become cheerful within 2 days. She hasn't cried since the day it happened; I don't want to change that.

Even when she's not squishing me, I still find it hard to fall asleep. Instead, I lie beside her, and watch Mum and the Charmander in the distance. I'm not sure what they're saying (if anything), but the Charmander seems to be warming up to her, and staying more still.

Then they walk over, and I pretend to fall asleep, to see whether the Charmander has actually started speaking.

"So, Fendreen," – wow, such a weird name – "are you still hungry?"

"No…" Her voice isn't as high as her screams, but still pretty high. How old is she, anyway?

"You should sleep now. You can talk with them tomorrow."

Fendreen (that's _really_ going to take some time to get used to) doesn't speak, but crawls on top of me and snuggles into my back, and gives me this weird itchy feeling that almost makes me move.

"No, I know you like him, but don't do that – it'll wake him up."

"O-kay." I feel her get off me and snuggle in next to me instead. Mum gives out a sigh picks her up (I think) and puts her somewhere else. Then I can only hear some giggling, and eventually silence. Until it's broken by Mum.

"Nova, I know you're not asleep. Get up." Well, I should've expected this from my mum. For a moment the light from the fire blinds me as I open my eyes, and then I see Mum right beside me.

"What's making you so restless? First you wake up in the middle of the night enough to realise the food's missing, and even after staying awake you can't fall asleep – you _do _realise it's early morning, right?"

What? I've stayed awake for that long? And it's not like anything is actually making me "restless"; just a bunch of things happening at the same time. Still, she's my mum, and this isn't about killing prey, so I'll just tell her.

"Well, at first it was Vie shuffling too close to me, and I heard this crunchy noise, so I got up. Right now it's because, well, Vie told me she's dreaming about her parents getting killed."

I shuffle in a bit closer to Mum.

"Oh… well, are you sure there's nothing that's crossing your mind?"

"Um… really, thanks Mum, but I-" Wait. "Mum, if you don't mind too much… what happened between you and Silex?"

She blinks. The same type of blink she had 2 days ago.

"Nonono Mum don't cry I won't ask anymore let's go to sleep okay?" I say in such a hurried way I don't think she even even heard anything properly.

But she does, at least part of it. "It's okay, Nova…" she wipes her eyes again. "I shouldn't be angry at her, really. I should thank her. She saved my life."

Wha…? "How?" I blurt out again, quite rudely I realise after it's already said.

"Nova, do you think it'd be all right if I talk to you later? Like, in a more formal way… where I'd tell you everything in one go."

"Why not now?"

"You're too young to understand some things. And to even listen to them."

"But-"

"Trust me on this one, Nova. I _will_ tell you someday."

And when a mother has made their decision, it's impossible to change it.

She just tells me to try and go to sleep, and I do so unwillingly. I lie down, and even after I hear her breathing become steadier, I'm still not asleep. Well, I did try, so I'm not lying.

Opening my eyes once more, I realise I have nothing to do. I can't do much other than try and fall asleep.

Stupid.

Wait, maybe I can get to know more about Fendreen! Mum said she liked me, so I hope she won't scream again and wake everyone up…

I find her lying next to the fire with her legs spread out. "Um, Fendreen?" I whisper, but she doesn't stir. I nudge her, and she just snorts and flips over… right into the fire.

I barely manage to keep myself from yelling and waking everyone up. I try and push her out the fire, since she's somehow still asleep, and it takes me a good deal of strength to do so, and she rolls sidewards for about 3 times or so, landing on her face.

And she's _still_ asleep.

Giving up, I crawl back to where I was, and continue my pointless struggle to try and get some shut-eye.

It doesn't seem long when I hear someone calling me, and I get onto my feet. I realise that it is morning already. I guess I did manage to get some sleep in the end…

Mum is nowhere to be seen – probably trying to find us a morning snack – and Vie's digging a tunnel under Fendreen who's still sleeping.

"Vie?" I yell, and then I mentally slap myself for yelling when Fendreen's sleeping. At least she doesn't seem to wake up, when Vie pokes her head out of the tunnel.

"Oh, you finally got up? I'm so bored, your mum told me not to wake either of you. Do you know what going to happen with the Charmonner?" She doesn't seem to be affected by her nightmares right now, which is good.

"It's Char_mander_." I stretch my legs a bit and walk over to the tunnel. "I don't get why you're digging tunnels. It's funner if you just bury yourself."

"For you," she responds and goes back down.

"You know, I hope you aren't planning to actually dig out the other end, because Fendreen's gonna fall into-"

"Wait, her name's Fendreen?" she asks in a really… questioning tone, which surprises me.

"Uh, yeah. What about it?"

"That's such a weird name. Does it even mean anything?"

Names have to mean something? "But-"

"Well, don't confront her about it." Mum says from behind me.

She lands on the floor (I don't think she managed to get any food), kicking up some sand. And apparently that specific thing is what's needed to get Fendreen to wake up.

"By the way, I think you probably don't know how to spell her name. Her names starts with P-H rather than F, and… well, basically its spelling is P-H-E-N-D-R-E-N-E. You might've guessed that, but at least I thought it was an F at first."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less-" Vie starts, but then she realises Fen- I mean, Phendrene is listening and stops.

"We should go," Mum says after giving Vie a look, and packs some still usable sticks from the remains of the fire into her box thing.

Phendrene is completely unaware of Vie's glances as she's glued onto Mum, who tells us that we might reach Lyrl today if we are lucky. While Mum's busy with Phendrene, Vie talks to me in a whisper.

"Really, I don't see why anyone would name their children that. It doesn't even have an actual meaning."

"So what?" I retort, perhaps a bit too loudly as I earn a look from everyone, although Mum and Phendrene quickly lose their attention and continue heading forward at a slow pace so Vie and I can keep up.

"Shush," Vie ushers, before starting on the subject again, in an even more quiet whisper. "Well… your name means a star of some sort. My name means… well, I forgot. I know it means something. Your mum's name is obvious. Everyone in my family has a name that means something. I just don't get why her name doesn't have any meaning. It's not interesting that way."

"I really don't think it matters," I say in a lower voice than my previous line but still quite a bit louder than Vie. "Her name's actually pretty… odd, in a good way. I think it's interesting."

"No, it's boring that way."

"Okay, whatever. Anyway, why do you like digging tunnels more than burying yourself?" I change the topic, because I think it might have gone awry if it continued, especially if Phendrene overheard us.

The rest of the morning is quite dull like the previous two – Phendrene doesn't talk _at all_. I know she can because I heard her talk to Mum, but… maybe she's just really shy or something. Either way, it's kind of funny watching her clinging to Mum.

At lunch, while we're nibbling on some Drilbur, Mum flies out to check how far Lyrl is. "It's not that far," she says after returning, "and I'd told the Flygon there to expect us." Her tone is completely normal, but I notice some sneaked glances towards Phendrene. Like she's worried or something. I think she doesn't need to worry; even though Vie picked on her name a bit, we're all perfectly fine with Phendrene, so others would be too, right?

The afternoon is slightly less dull, thankfully. Mum starts telling us random stories, because Vie exhausted things to talk about and started to get moody. The stories aren't exactly awesome but they're better than nothing; they give us a good chuckle occasionally, like when someone gets mud splattered all over their face.

It's not until early evening (with a yellow-orangish sky) that we arrive at Lyrl. We first see a small, unnatural thing in the distance that I would have probably ignored if Mum didn't point it out, and as we get closer, we see stone structures with really refined edges and stuff. It seems to cover quite a large area, too. As we're expecting to get in, Mum stops us.

"Stay here for now. I'll tell them." She doesn't give us time to respond and takes off really quickly.

"Aw, why can't we just go over?" complains Vie.

"I think they're just being extra-careful," I say. "Other Flygon definitely arrived here already, and they probably don't want to be raided like the Sh… well, yeah, it is kind of bothersome." Stupid conversations, always leading to the topic of how the Shallows were destroyed by the Salamence. Ugh.

Phendrene fiddles with the sand somewhat nervously while Vie just gives out a tired sigh and lies down. "Well, I guess it's right for them, then." Is she thinking about her family again? Maybe I should ask. But if she isn't, then that'd just remind her.

Mum flies back and interrupts my mental fix. "All sorted… Let's go." She says in a tired tone, giving more glances at Phendrene, who gets up with Vie and follows her without any words, and then I realise I'm not doing the same and I quickly catch up.

Seriously, what's up with Phendrene? I know she's only here by chance, but… I just don't get it.

Lyrl gradually becomes bigger and more detailed as we get to this passageway between two upstanding stone buildings. There's several other Flygon on the walls, scattered quite evenly. They all seem quite tired. A lot of somehow strange but familiar smells approach, and even though it's quite confusing I ignore it quite easily by staying near Mum. Finally, we pass between the two buildings. Somehow, everyone around is looking at us, and quite intently as it is. I'm wondering why they're doing such a thing – there must have been a lot of us passing through already – when a rough voice to the side speaks.

"I'm reminding you if she does _anything_ out of-"

"Yes, yes, thank you, I get it. Now if you please, I have three children to attend to."

Mum's voice doesn't fit in what she usually uses; but then again, that Flygon who just spoke to her used a rather serious voice, too. He doesn't look too pleased at her response, even though he lightens up a bit when I try and smile at him.

As we get deeper into the place, I realise that Lyrl is nothing like the Shallows. Sure, there's still the sand on the floor and the sky and stuff, but Flygon here live in constructed buildings that are grey and have a more solid shape. I'll probably miss sleeping in a cave.

There's also a lot more Flygon here. But strangely, I can't find any Trapinch or Vibrava; maybe things are stricter and they're already sleeping? Nah, it'd be way too early. Still, I'm not used to such a large crowd, and if I don't stay close to Mum I think the smells might make me lose track of her.

I don't mind the difference too much, though. I just don't get why everyone is looking at us. Do they do this to all the groups that got here from the Shallows?

"It's so creepy when they look at us," I tell Vie in a low voice. She gives me a kind of meaningful look, and then heads forward without saying anything. Eh, she'll tell me what's going on with her later. It doesn't seem like her family, at least.

We eventually arrive at a large clearing with a big piece of… something on top of it. There's a bunch of Flygon here, too, but I recognise some of the smells, even if only vaguely. Mum leads us to an empty area, puts down her box, and says to Vie, "Your brothers are here somewhere; I'll try and find them." Then she walks off and looks over the place, after whispering something to Phendrene. I don't expect her to find them quickly, though; this place is really quite big, maybe a hundred times as long as me? Probably longer.

My musing about the size of this refugee place is cut short but a tap on the side by Vie, who signals me away from Phendrene who in turn is just lying there and staring at the ceiling (I wish I could do that). I follow her, and before I get to question her, she starts speaking.

"I don't get it. You're the type to notice these things." The sentence is rather blunt.

"I did notice them looking-"

"No. I meant the _reason_ they were looking at us," she interrupts, and lowers her voice.

"Well, why?" I ask, not bothering to really think about it.

"They're not looking at us. They're looking at Phendrene."

Oh. Right. "That is… so obvious," I manage to say after freezing for a bit. "Well, she has sort of a same colour of skin to Trapinch…"

"Tell me," she says abruptly, "Tell me why you didn't notice."

Well… "I just didn't really notice it," I answer truthfully.

"You're usually the one that picks up on this stuff. Seriously, tell me what's going on."

Vie does know me well, but I think I know myself better. I really wasn't thinking about anything… Well, I was thinking about how Lyrl is compared to the Shallows, but Vie must have been thinking about that too, right? And I wasn't really thinking about Vie thinking about her parents… Ugh, whatever.

"Dunno. Seriously, I'm not lying. I just didn't really notice."

"Are you sure?" She moves her head closer. "It's okay to tell me stuff. I told you I was having nightmares about my parents."

"It's nothing, really! And why do I have to be the one that notices these stuff?" I say loudly, probably enough to attract the attention of everyone in the clearing so that she'd stop bothering me.

"Vie?" Mum squeezes through the crowd. "I've found your brothers," she says, indicating Vie to come with her.

"…I'll make you tell me the truth later," she mutters in a somewhat threatening but not ill-intentioned way. But I _am_ telling the truth!

Whatever, I need to calm down. Going back to the place where Mum placed her box, Phendrene's still lying there, completely unaware of others that are looking at her.

"…Phendrene?" She tilts her head to the side to look at me, whines something that could be interpreted as "no", and continues to stare at the ceiling.

"Wow, you know her?" I turn around, and I find Navy before me. I know her from the Shallows, and she's about the same age as me. We're the same size, too: both a little smaller than the rest, although it's not that obvious. Her skin's quite a bit darker than mine, though – the most common colour for Trapinch. She's pretty nice and outgoing, but we didn't talk to each other that much; although we kind of became friends when we told each other our name. They're so similar!

I tell her how Phendrene arrived. "Yeah, my mum found her on the way here, and decided to bring her. She does the hunting, after all."

"Hmm, I've never seen anything out of our species before!" she says brightly, "Other than the Salamence… but that doesn't really count. Do you think she might mind talking to me?"

"Well, yes. No offense, Navy, but she doesn't talk to anyone. Not even me. Sorry." Oh, there I go apologising for something that's not my fault again.

"Aw, that's too bad then. Anyway, you're so lucky you got to walk here! My mum carried me the whole way, and I didn't get the chance to see her hunt! Even though she's a Transporter… Still, I'm never going to see Dad hunt again." She goes kind of quiet, and from that I know that her dad's been killed. By the stupid Salamence.

"Oh… I know how you feel. Sort of." It's not exactly a secret that my dad's dead. I practically asked everyone what having a dad was like when I was younger.

"Well, thanks, Nova. I just don't get why he didn't just let the Salamence in…" She sighs, and her expression changes. "Anyway! It's not too bad, really. I heard Vie lost more than half of her family… is it true?"

"Yeah," I respond, before quickly changing the topic to something not about Vie, because I don't think she'd want me talking about her family behind her. "I'm actually lucky that no one in my family's dead… well, there're only two of us, I guess…"

"I actually quite liked their light skin. Vie's family, I mean." Ugh, don't talk about her family!

Before I get to try and change the topic, she does. "Anyway, this place is better than I thought." It takes me a moment to realise she's talking about Lyrl.

"How?" I ask, and only just remembering that she's been here for at least a day already.

"Well, I thought the other Trapinch might treat us badly, but they're quite friendly. Cyan, my little sister, said she got this really fun toy from another really young Trapinch. I haven't really made any friends here yet, but I think I'll do so soon enough.

"And this place is huge! It has got to be at least ten times bigger than the Shallows. They say there are twenty different teaching places. We only had one! They also have a lot more manufactured goods, but that's expected. And there's the difference in the places where they live, which you probably already noticed.

"That's about it, really," she finishes.

"Well, I just hope they're not too harsh on Phendrene. She doesn't seem that she fits in," I say. Maybe it's because I've just met Navy who talks so much, opposed to Phendrene who doesn't speak.

"Uh, sorry, Nova, but who's Phendrene?"

"Oh, that's the Charmander's name. I called her that right before I started talking to you."

"Oh, Okay. I just didn't really hear it properly. And her name's kind of… different from ours. But anyway, I do hope she fits in. Otherwise it'd be terrible!"

The tone Navy uses tells me she's not trying to be mean, but it actually worries me. Phendrene really won't fit in… and not because of her name.

"Anyway, have you heard what most of us are talking about right now? Who do you want to be your mate?"

Huh? That came out of nowhere. "Um, I'm not too sure. You?"

"Well, maybe you! I mean, my best friends are all females, and you obviously can't have someone the same gender as you. And you're pretty awesome, too!"

"Uh, thanks. But I'm not really sure if that'll work out. Vie wants me to be her mate, and to be honest, I do talk to her more than you." I feel kind of guilty for saying it, but I say the truth anyway, since Navy's being so nice and I don't want to lie to her.

"It doesn't matter! Have you heard the Salamence King? I heard from the other Trapinch here that he has a lot of mates!"

What's exciting about that? "Well… being mates is all about companionship or something like that, right? I don't think a lot of mates would be a good idea. And really, I don't think the Salamence are a good target to aim for."

"Aw, that-" she stops, and just as I'm about to ask her what's wrong, she starts again.

"Oh, hi, Vie! I'm so sorry about your parents and brothers…" I know Navy's genuine, but somehow, the statement seems a bit… fake. And I realise that Navy does restrain herself when she needs to.

"Don't worry about it," Vie responds as she walks into view from behind me. "What are you guys talking about?"

"About the Salamence King." Vie cringes for a bit, and I feel a bit guilty for using such a blunt method from hiding my conversation with Navy. "Anyway, how are your brothers?"

"They're quite okay, actually. They've signed up for the Hunters over here, since the Flygon here don't really hunt, and your mum went after they told her." Of course. If Vie can deal with it, her older brothers certainly can as well.

"You sure you're okay, Vie? I mean…" Navy starts again.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks. How did you get here?"

"Mum flew me here," Navy repeats, "so I've been here for a few days. It's not too bad. Nova'll tell you. Anyway, I think I'll leave you two now. I gotta find Cyan, anyway. Bye!" she finishes cheerfully, and walks off.

"Bye!" Vie replies, but I just look at the ground. Mates… who cares? Why do we even have to have mates? It complicates things so much.

"_So_," Vie says in an ominous voice, "you ready to tell me what's up with you yet?"

"No." She glares at me. "Wait, I mean no, there's nothing up with me. So I can't tell you."

"Oh come on, you _know_-" Right after she puts the stress on the word (it's actually kind of… slinky), I notice some Trapinch to the side getting nearer to Phendrene, and I crawl towards them without paying attention to the rest of Vie's sentence.

"She looks so weird!" the larger one says.

The smaller one wonders as he reaches out his foreleg to the unaware Phendrene who now has her forelegs – arms plugged into her ears. "What do you think her tail feels like?"

"Don't touch her! What are you doing?" I shout at the two Trapinch whom I vaguely recognise. It gets their attention, but Phendrene still staring at the ceiling, unaware of what's around her.

"We're just talking about her. Is that a problem?" The larger one says, his voice hostile.

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean, can you just please stop it? Please? She's really tired." Why can't I form a clear sentence? I don't want them to do anything to Phendrene but I don't want to get hurt either. The Trapinch, on the other hand, doesn't look particularly wanting to back down.

"Why can't we? We want to talk about her."

"Then, you stay the hell away from her. And talk in your own space." Vie marches up, and her voice feels far, far more threatening than the big guy.

"You just said a bad word!" The small guy exclaims, like it's something as horrible as the Salamence.

"Well? I don't give a damn. You two stay away. _Or else._" She growls, and crawls forward, each step producing a distinct noise. I'm behind her, so I can't see her eyes, but the two Trapinch's expressions give me an idea of what it's like.

"Let's get outta here," the big guy mutters and crawls away with the small guy.

"Wow." Did Vie just scare away a male Trapinch that was both bigger than her in size and age? "Vie, that was… so… good," I finish lamely. Maybe I do need to know more words, like Vie.

It's still kind of scary though, because even we do say these words sometimes in secret conversations, we never say them to other Trapinch. Most certainly not when there's a bunch of adults around.

"Learnt it from Hale," she says curtly, and starts crawling away from Phendrene.

"Wait! I thought you liked her now? Why are you moving away?" I call after her, as I catch up.

"…I don't like her name." And she cut the topic short. "And if you don't tell me what was on your mind I'll unleash that on you."

It doesn't seem like she will stop asking me until I give her an answer, but the problem is that I have none. But I don't want to lie to her; it just doesn't feel right, after she helped me out so much with Phendrene (even if she was kind of mean to Phendrene, at least it wasn't in front of her).

"Vie." I try and make my voice serious, but it fails miserably. I guess I'm not the type. "Okay, never mind. Unleash that on me, because I really wasn't thinking about anything."

"Oh" is apparently what she was planning to unleash.

"What, you believe me now?"

"You… you had a weird tone, like a tone of resignation." Uh, stupid random words Vie uses. "So… I know you weren't lying."

I'm tempted to ask the meaning of resignation, but I realise that Vie suddenly becomes gloomy, and is lying down and squinting into the distance. "And I thought I was good at reading others. Heh." She redirects her view at me. "Seems like you're still the best at it."

I want to say "how does that even make sense" or something of the sort, but I don't feel that would cheer Vie up. Instead, I tug at her. "It doesn't matter if I… _read_ others better than you. You're still a lot better than me at, like, scaring down other Trapinch. And forming clear sentences around them. Come on, let's go." I tug at her again, and she finally gets up. She doesn't seem to be feeling sad; just tired and wanting to see her family. That's what I get from her expression and how she's acting.

She doesn't talk much during the remainder of the evening, even when Mum brings back a Sandshrew, or Phendrene burns it and I tell her I like the burned meat better. She goes to sleep – or at least, pretends to go to sleep – early again, leaving Phendrene and I to wander around. Mum had agreed to go with Bane (I still can't remember his name really well) to try and find some news about Hale, and made me promise that Phendrene wouldn't run into any other Flygon, children or otherwise, that weren't friendly. I still don't get why they use our adult forms as a general term, but who am I to think about this? Another topic I could speak about with Vie…

And we don't run into anyone hostile, because all Phendrene is interested in doing is snuggling with me. I let her, though, because it distracts me of thinking about how gloomy Vie was, and it also makes me more cheerful, her dark blue eyes and her tail. How does it stay alight, anyway? At least the other Flygon have been making fires, because otherwise she would have stood out way too much. The tail flame doesn't feel all that hot, either.

It's what I think about until I hear something wake me up. Before opening my eyes, I hear Mum talking to Vie.

"Hale's here. And he needs you."


	4. Chapter 4

Mum attempts to usher me to sleep after noticing my start, but I don't take in a single word of what she says.

"Mum, please. Let me go with Vie."

"But… no. Hale doesn't need you, and you need sleep." I can hear that her tone isn't too firm, so I try again.

"But Vie's my best friend! I can't let her go alone! And I can make up for the sleep-"

"Shush," Mum says and I realise I've been shouting. "Fine, come. Don't make so much noise." Well, at least that got me to go.

I glance at Vie, and she actually seems quite calm. But I see clearly that there's some kind of – some kind of longing in her eyes.

Throughout the journey, she stays behind Mum, looking at the ground in front of her, not speaking a thing. If it isn't nighttime, or if it isn't that she looks so nervous, I might have walked up to her. But somehow, I suddenly feel more distant, like some invisible barrier is separating me from my best friend. Maybe it's because I feel like she has taken Mum's attention, which is stupid really, because she's the one following Mum right now.

Regardless of my thoughts, I manage to stay awake by staring at all the round light things around me. It looks weird: somehow bright and dim at the same time. And it just feels so… unnatural, unlike the sunlight or fire. Maybe it's because of it being white rather than yellow.

Still, I'm fairly drowsy by the time we reach the gates (the route didn't seem so long on the way from it), and I hear some noise outside. Another Flygon talks to Mum about something and leads her out, Vie close on her tail. I follow hesitantly, because of the darkness outside; but the fear's stupid, Mum's out there.

Where do I get all these random thoughts from? I guess it's me being drowsy.

And I wake up immediately as I see a shrivelled Hale, tucked tightly in Silex's arms.

"It's okay. Your sister's here." Silex's soothing voice doesn't only make Hale stop quivering, it also makes me feel more… peaceful, somehow.

"Here, Vie," I hear a familiar voice say, and I realise that it's Bane. Of course he's here. They wouldn't get Vie up if they didn't need her to.

Vie crawls forward unsteadily and Bane puts a hand on her. Silex puts Hale down and backs off slightly, holding a rictus smile. She then walks off to the side where I see a few other Trapinch from the Shallows and I see Mum giving her a furtive look. She whispers something to the Trapinch and walks into Lyrl's gates, but not before giving me a momentary glance. I'm watching her leave as Hale's sobs cut my thoughts off, as well as Mum's gaze.

"I… I'm so sorry…" Hale starts, but Vie cuts him off with a foreleg covering his mouth.

"What are you talking about? I don't mind anymore." It's so unnerving how quickly Vie changes, from downcast to encouraging.

And yes, what are they talking about? I have no clue, although I might get some from Vie later. But certainly not now.

"But… I called… you…" He's still trying to say something, but Vie's having none of it.

"Really, it's okay! I mean, let's not talk about it."

"Still… I missed you…" Hale missed Vie? It was only two days… but I guess that's not exactly absurd when his parents got killed. And now that I think of it, they have seen each other for basically every day of their lives.

"Shh. Let's go in first." Vie says in a comforting voice. As they head slowly towards the gate and I'm about to start, I feel someone grab my side and lift me into her chest.

"Mum?" I say in alarm, before realising I was too loud. Again.

"Sorry," Mum says to some other Flygon, and she walks very fast past the others back into Lyrl.

"I had to get you," Mum tells me before I even ask anything, "otherwise Hale couldn't speak."

"Why did Vie have to come out, anyway?" I still manage to find a question to ask.

"Hale requested it. I can't really blame him. Apparently he witnessed his parents and brothers' deaths first-hand."

I shudder, thinking what it must be like. If I… if I saw Mum like that, I… I don't even want to think about it.

"Why did Hale want to see Vie?"

"I don't know. Nova, may you stop with the questions? I'm just as tired as you are." Yeah, I feel I'm just asking questions just for the sake of it, too. Maybe to shake off the image I keep picturing of my mum dead.

Since I have nothing to do, I just close my eyes and let myself feel the wind blowing on my body… Is this what flying feels like?

"Mum?" I ask tentatively, afraid that she might get mad at me again.

Surprisingly, she isn't mad at all. Maybe she knows I won't ask a stupid question right after she tells me not to. "Mm?"

"Can you… take me flying sometime?" I ask in a soft voice.

She gives a sigh, and I think "_Oh no_" to myself, before she responds. "Sure… that'll get you used to the heights too."

I smile, even though she can't see it. I am so glad that Mum has always been with me; even though that's kind of a mean thought, since Vie's parents just died.

"Mum?" I ask another time.

"Mm?" she responds just like before.

"Promise me, you'll always stay by my side. Always." I don't know where that comes from. I felt like I had to ask that. Maybe just to calm myself down.

"I ca-" she stops, both speaking and walking. My eyes are still closed, but I think she might be looking at me. "Yes… Nova. I'll stay with you. Always. …I promise." And she starts walking again.

The rest of the route home, I just stay silent, feeling safe and warm inside my mother's arms.

There's this vague recognition of my father, and happiness, and then waking up because I feel something touching my face.

"Wha?" I shake my head, and notice that it's morning already and Phendrene's poking the part of my face which has the blue mark. I almost forgot about her after last night. I must have fallen asleep in Mum's forelegs- arms, and she put me here.

Shaking my head slightly to get my head clear, I tell her about it. "I don't know what it is either. It was there ever since I started remembering stuff. Mum says I was born with it. Apparently we have this thing called a birthmark, that sticks to your skin, although Mum says that she's never seen any blue ones."

She smiles for a bit, then runs off to Mum, who's talking to another Flygon about something. I follow her. "Mum?"

"…they called her the Altruistic Guardian. I think it sounds corny." She turns around. "Nova? I'm talking to Ray, can you wait a bit?"

"I was just wondering where Phendrene would be in the day."

"Oh, she's going to stay with me. Okay? Anyway, I don't…"

She does seem quite occupied with her conversation right now, so I let Mum continue talking. I give a glance at Phendrene; she seems quite content with Mum. I try and find Vie somewhere. I could ask Mum, but I don't want to bother her. Instead, I try and find her scent; there's only the slight smell (which is kind of hard to recognise in such a packed place), but I try and find her by myself anyway.

After worming my way through the crowd, I realise she's asleep, next to Hale; they actually look fitting together. Of course, they're twins. Cole's also asleep near, but I can't find Bane. He's probably off to do something.

I nuzzle Vie gently. "Vie?"

She spurts something slurred, and opens my eyes?

"Ugh, Nova? I want more sleep."

"I need to talk to you."

"Argh fine." She moves sideways so she doesn't disturb Hale, and gets up. "What?" she says in an impatient voice.

"Let's go somewhere else," I tell her in a soft voice.

Suddenly, her voice isn't so tired anymore. "It's about Hale."

"Yes, it is." I find my own voice shrinking, for some reason.

"…I don't want to talk about it," she says in the same quiet voice I'm using.

"Why?"

"It's… just…"

"Vie, you can tell me. It's okay." I want to know what happened last night, but… but am I really helping her by persisting?

"…Okay. Let's go to your cave- I mean, whatever it's called now."

Really, should I be asking her? Will it actually make her feel better? And… I haven't even told her all the stuff about myself, like how I dislike hunting and how I love Humans. Maybe I should tell her too.

I don't get to make a decision when she starts speaking. "Hale… he saw our Mum when she suffered the blow. He… he was really scared, so he ran away, to Silex. Turns out he, well, is actually really interested in intellectual stuff as well, so he knows where Silex lives. But he doesn't want to be left out like we are right now. Well, like what we were like at the Shallows."

It takes some time for the information to sink in. Even though what Vie described is quite serious… I don't think I feel the emotion that I would have if I listened directly from Hale. Watching your mother get killed… ugh, why do I keep letting these images into my mind?

And him wanting to be "intellectual". I didn't expect that. Still, maybe that means we could be friends.

But how does all of this relate to Hale wanting to see Vie? Just because she's his twin?

Then I remember what he was talking about last night. What Hale said. _"But… I called… you…"_

"Vie, what did he call you?"

"How do- it's nothing. Really." But her voice tells me that it's clearly not nothing.

"Vie, just tell me."

"Fine, he called me weird! Because I was telling my parents how good I got on a test! And then he got really upset during the Salamence attack because he thought I might have died and he would never have a chance to say sorry to me again and tell me that he actually admired me and didn't think I was weird and that he was just upset at the time! Happy?"

Vie's sharp voice stings my ears and before I know it, she darts off.

"Wait!" I steady myself and chase after her. "I'm sorry!" Several other Flygon, and even some Trapinch, are looking at me now, but I don't care. "Vie!" She runs off out of the place where the Shallows Flygon are, and I try and follow her. Maybe I should act on my thoughts; when something gives me bad vibes, it is probably not a good idea to follow through with it.

I manage to keep her in my sight when she stops at this place where there's a pond. When I catch up to her I realise she's in tears.

"V-Vie?" I crawl up to her slowly, afraid that she will lash out at me.

"I… I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry, Nova," she manages to say.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made you tell me when you didn't want to." Strange, why do I feel so calm all of a sudden? Technically, I should be really sad that my best friend is crying. But I just feel logical. Whatever.

"No, it's me. I've been so stressed about Hale. We haven't talked in weeks. And now he's the one apologising. But recently when he tried to reconcile with me, I've just ignored him."

"Vie… Vie, stop crying! Isn't it better now, that you two are, are reconciled?" I only get the gist of what the word means, but I think I get it right. It's the least of my worries right now. "And… you really do care about each other! You were so worried about Hale when we heard of the Salamence attack… and you know the day before that when your were upset with me? It was Hale who told me about it. He had been paying attention to you, too. So… so… just stop crying!"

I'm not even sure I spoke coherently, but whatever I said, coupled with my look (which I tried to make desperate) it seems to make Vie calm down. "Th… thanks, Nova. It's just… I feel so bad fussing over this when my parents are _dead_. I just feel that I don't have my priorities straight."

"But… none of it is your fault. I'm not saying to forget your parents, but… you shouldn't dwell on them."

She stops sobbing, and wipes some tears of her face.

"Plus…" I try and be bold, "I haven't even told you all of my secrets."

She turns her head to look at me immediately. "Tell me- I mean, you don't have to-"

"It's okay, Vie, I shouldn't be hiding it in the first place. And it's all to do with myself, not others. I'll be completely fine.

"It's about hunting. You know how most other Trapinch are more physical? I'm not. Even you already had your first kill already, and you're one of the less "physical" Trapinch. I… I think I can hunt if I try. But I don't want to. When I kill something with my own hands, it feels like… I've broken something innocent. I just… I'm just not fit to be a hunter, I guess. But everyone will expect me to at least kill something…" I actually feel better, for some reason, after letting it out. Maybe I should do it more.

"Yes." Vie stays silent for a bit before continuing. "Nova, I don't get how you feel, but… it doesn't matter if you don't hunt. You might go hungry, but… if you never manage to start hunting, I'll hunt for you." She nudges me, and I realise that I'm making sobbing sounds, even though I'm not actually tearing.

"Thanks, Vie." I don't want to say anything else; it would sound too fake. Instead, I'm filled with this heartwarming feeling of gratitude towards Vie, and… as weird as it sounds, it's quite accurate.

"I'm kind of thirsty, let's drink," I say, turning my mind off the more sensitive subjects and reverting back to my usual self.

"The pond looks weird, though," Vie comments, and when I look closer I find that I agree with her. It's still a hole in the ground filled with water, but the bottom is a sphere shape and the lining is a light grey – I realise it's stone after I feel it. "Why is it like this?"

"It's because it's not a pond; it's a fountain. You're supposed to drink from them," says a female Trapinch who is to the left of us. I wasn't aware of her before; was she listening to our conversation? "You see the round hole at the bottom? That's where water comes out." As I get a better look at her, I realise her body's slightly larger than ours, although the head's the same size. Her shell looks dark to me, but it's probably because I'm with Vie. I can identify a slightly red shade in her shell colour, too.

"Thanks. What's your name?" Vie asks.

"Dice. You?"

After pausing for a bit, Vie responds in a pleasant tone. "I'm Vie, and this is Nova. Nice to meet you, Dice." Her name is somewhat unusual, and possibly more fitting for a male, but I've seen worse.

"Hey, no need to be that formal. We're not gonna bite or anything. You're from the Shallows, right? I was born and raised in Lyrl, so we probably know different stuff. Mind sharing some knowledge about stuff? Just curious."

Vie smiles brightly. "Sure. What don't you know about the Shallows? It's really different, in quite a lot of places. Well, there's a lot more sand. And there's no stone walls surrounding it. Oh and we don't drink out of this fountain, we drink out of a lake."

"A lake?" Dice asks excitedly, "I've never seen one! We all drink from these fountains; apparently they have to dig really deep to reach water, and they send it up here."

"Hmm, I wonder why you guys didn't settle in somewhere near a lake or a big pond or something. It would be really convenient," Vie says.

"I don't know. Hey, why aren't you speaking?" Dice says to me, and only then do I realise I've let Vie done all the talking.

"Sorry, he's just not that talkative around new dragons." I am? I haven't even noticed myself.

"Yeah, uh, sorry. As to why Lyrl isn't next to a water source, um, it was because it was the remains of a Human power plant or something. I, uh, learnt that in class."

"Cool." Right after Dice finishes speaking, I hear another voice, female too, although it has weird accent. "Dice? Where are you?"

"Dree?" Dice turns around, and looks at another Trapinch that's crawling over. "I thought you were with Zeta."

"He's boring, rambling about how talons are inefficient. What are you doing here, anyway?" The Trapinch – she must be Dree – says while giving us a weird look.

"I'm talking to Vie and Nova. They're from the Shallows," Dice explains.

"Oh _come on_, let's go," Dree says impatiently and starts dragging Dice away with a surprising amount of force.

"Ugh… Sorry! Bye!" Dice yells over the top of her voice and gets dragged around the corner of something. That Dree does seem strong. But…

"What's wrong with that Dree?" Vie says, annoyed. "We were just having a nice conversation with Dice and she just butted in rudely and dragged Dice away."

"Maybe it's actually because she had something busy. Or private. Whatever, I'm really thirsty now." We didn't actually drink anything after Dice came along, so we fill ourselves.

I'm reminded of the last time we drank water; in the lake at the Shallows. Vie and I were worrying about a Science test back then. And we were still doing the random, cheesy stuff. I really wish that we can go back to that state… but I'm not sure if it's possible.

We normally don't go three days without drinking water, so I drink quite a lot. It makes me wonder why I haven't been feeling thirsty before I saw the water; maybe seeing the water is the trigger that makes me thirsty?

Ugh, I can't really think too much with a full belly. And by the looks of it, Vie drank a lot too. She manages to get out an "Ugh" and starts waddling back, but she goes three steps and stops. "We shouldn't have drank that much. I don't get it, why wasn't I thirsty before I saw the water?"

"Same here. Let's rest for a bit." I lay down onto the floor, and Vie does the same. "Seriously, I'm starting to feel sick."

Just when we both settle down, Hale comes over.

"Oh… Hi, Vie, Nova. Why are you two lying on the ground?" Even though he tries hard to not show it, I can still detect the sadness from last night. Somehow.

"Don't drink so much water. Or you'll end up like us," Vie warns him.

"Um, okay. Do you guys need help?" Yes, he definitely changed. I don't think I've ever heard him say the word "um" before.

"Nah, we just need a bit of rest. You should drink some if you didn't have any water since the Shallows," I say, and then I give out and close my eyes, breathing in big breaths to make my stomach feel better.

"Okay… thank you." I hear Hale walk over to the fountain, and he starts drinking slowly.

"Urgh," Vie says, and I agree with her. This is so crazy; we're thirsty and suddenly we "overdrink"? Doesn't our body have some mechanism to prevent that?

After a few minutes, I feel somewhat better and get up unsteadily. Hale's still sipping silently at the water, giving Vie and me a few glances now and then. I crawl over to Vie, who's still on the floor.

"You okay?" I ask softly.

"Yes." She gets up slowly. "That was weird."

Hale takes a final sip and crawls over. "You two okay?"

Are _you_ okay, Hale?

"Yeah," Vie says. "I don't know why that happened."

"Let's go back," says Hale, and he crawls back towards where we came from. I'm not sure if it's my imagination that he's shaking. Actually, on second thought, it probably is just me.

"Uh, Vie? What… now?" I ask her. We can't just talk about stuff all day.

"I don't know. I don't think the Lyrl guards will let us out to hunt. I think they'll let us have more lessons, though. Anyway, the only ones who would know would be adults. Let's find them." She breathes a deep breath that sounds like a sigh, probably still recovering from the drinking, and then crawls in the direction she ran from.

It doesn't take long for us to go back, and when we do, it's easy to find Mum, because it's easy to find Phendrene in a bunch of Flygon.

She's not talking to that Flygon before anymore, but with Phendrene, and they're lying next to each other on their stomachs. "Mum?" I ask, and I actually have to crawl up to her to get her attention because my voice isn't particularly loud and the place is starting to get noisy, what with everyone getting up.

"Don't worry… there's nothing wrong with that," Mum says before realising I'm nudging her side. "Excuse- oh my Hyd- Nova you don't just do that!"

"Err… sorry, Mum." I don't know what made her suddenly jump, and right onto Phendrene. She gets off quickly and Phendrene doesn't seem a little more than irritated, if a bit surprised too, but it's expected from someone like her.

"Just don't sneak up on me like that," Mum finishes after brushing a bit of sand off her belly. "Anyway, is there anything?" I still don't get why she got scared. I was only nudging her side…

"We were just wondering if we'll still have school," says Vie.

"Oh, that." She calms down a bit. "Well, since there are a lot of immigrants from the Shallows, and they're all in one place, it would be really difficult to split them up into the multiple different places in Lyrl. So, you're still gonna have lessons with the Shallows Educators. All of them survived, I think. It'll be near here somewhere. We'll get informed when it's set up, so don't worry about it."

"Okay, Mum. Uh, why were you so… surprised?" I ask.

"It's… I got scared for a bit. No big deal, really. It's about time for me to start hunting, anyway. We haven't eaten anything since we arrived, and you're probably hungry." I'm not actually that hungry, but I guess a meal couldn't hurt.

"Stay somewhere near here. I'll bring Phendrene," she tells us. Phendrene clambers onto Mum's back. "Also," she lowers her voice, "don't be with the Lyrl Trapinch too much. Some of them can get nasty. Got it?" Strange, Dice was really nice to us. Maybe she's just being sceptical.

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Nova's mum!" I still find her calling Mum that kind of awkward.

"You're welcome." Mum smiles, and walks off into the sunlight, and I watch her take off, leaving some dust in the air.

"Let's go find Hale," Vie says, snapping me out of staring at my Mum flying off into the distance, with Phendrene holding on to her neck (I wish I had versatile forelegs, too).

"Oh. Okay." Well, I guess we will be hanging out with Hale quite a bit now, since Vie's not having any problems with him again. Not that it's a bad thing…

Actually, it might be. Hale's not mean or anything, but he can get quite violent in play fights; plus, there's no guarantee that his friends are nice or anything. Even though Mum told us to beware of Lyrl Trapinch, I still remember yesterday when the two Shallows Trapinch were kind of threatening Phendrene…

I'm probably overthinking this. I'll just see how everything goes.

Hale is talking to Cole about something when we arrive. He sees us and instantly crawls over, after uttering something to Cole, who flies off. "So, uh, do you guys know anything to teach me?" he asks meekly. It seems as if he assumes that Vie told me about everything already. Well, I guess he is smarter than I made him out to be.

"Sure," Vie says in a cheerful voice. "What do you want to know about?"

"Well, I think anything will be fine."

"Nova? Wanna do some talking?" Vie asks, and the way she looks at me tells me that despite her sunny tone, she doesn't really know what to do to comfort Hale either.

"So!" I start, "Do you know about the Hydreigon?"

"Yeah. Not much, though." I can hear anticipation in his voice. I guess I'll let him have it.

"Well… I don't know everything, but I'll try. Do you want to start from the beginning? Of History, I mean."

"Yes." He settles down, and Vie does to. I feel like I'm an Educator. Oh well, it's practice for the future.

"So, once the Humans died out, dragons rose to prominence, right? It was kind of like what we are like now." I need to omit these extra words such as "kind of" if I want to sound better. Clearing my throat a bit, and trying to recall what Silex had told me, in class or out, I continue.

"Some says it happened over a night, some says it happened over a few years, but there was this particular Hydreigon – he seemed to have some mental ability that allowed him to first overcome the Garchomp, then the Dragonite, then the Salamence, and then through them they asserted power over the entirety of Evitern.

"Aeride desert wasn't affected much. The Hydreigon didn't really care about Flygon. One thing changed, though. Contact was lost from other areas. Apparently the Hydreigon forbid dragons to cross into one another's territory. No one really knows why.

"The reign of the Hydreigon didn't last long, though. They suddenly disappeared one day, about a few months before we hatched, and within a month the dragons returned to normal, with Garchomp and Salamence continuing to feud over various things. The Dragonite quit, though."

"Wow," Hale says after getting up, "you're really smart. How do you know all this?"

"Eh, thanks. I know from, um, Silex telling me. Sometimes I go to her in my free time when I'm bored."

"Hmm, I should do that more. See you later!" He walks off and I can sense his cheerful tone isn't exactly genuine. Just like how Vie is like around other Trapinch that she doesn't know well, or when she is trying to comforting someone.

Vie's words pull me back into reality. "But seriously, Nova, how do you memorise all this stuff?"

"Well, I think it's because I'm really interested, so I try quite hard to. Aren't you like that with Language?"

"Yeah, I guess." She looks around a bit. "Hey, there's some space there. Why don't we go play pebble dodge?"

I follow her foreleg's pointed direction to see an area next to the our clearing. "Sure. But I'm not sure if you can find a-"

"Found one," she interrupts, picking a grey pebble out of a pit she dug surprisingly fast.

"Heh, nice. Never mind, then." Either there's a bunch of pebbles under here or she's really lucky.

Throughout the rest of the day, I'm barely reminded of Hale's sadness, or the destruction of the Shallows. It's quite mundane: finishing the game of pebble dodge with me winning, Mum bringing food (and Phendrene) back to eat, me asking Silex some stuff about history with Hale close behind, etc. At night, we have pretty much settled into Lyrl comfortably. Mum informs us that there will be school at about the place where Vie and I drank from the fountain tomorrow, although it'll be much less formal. And that reminds me to ask her a question after a snack of Cacnea in the evening.

"Mum? Why do we not realise we're thirsty then drink too much water and feel sick?" I ask her out of the blue.

She's taken aback for a second. "What do you mean?" she asks back.

Well, I did phrase quite it badly. I'll try again. "This morning, Vie and I went to drink water. When we saw the water we suddenly realised we were really thirsty so we drank a lot, so much that we couldn't move anymore. Do you know why, Mum?"

She puts that thinking gesture with her claws on her face again. "No, I'm not really sure. The Educators might know though. You can ask them tomorrow. It's quite late right now. Vie, you should probably go back."

Vie looks up from her making-weird-faces game with Phendrene. "Oh, okay. See you tomorrow, then." She sounds just like when she was in the Shallows. It's comforting.

Before she leaves, however, she has one last word with me. "Nova, you shouldn't dwell on the over-drinking thing too much. It was unexpected but, well, there are plenty of things that don't have an explanation. You're just too curious. Okay?"

Yeah, I probably am too focused on these small details that don't really have a point. "Okay. Bye."

Now that I think of it, my sleep was interrupted for both of the last two times I slept: once by Phendrene, once by Hale. Maybe finally I'll get a full night of sleep tonight.

As I settle down and Phendrene snuggles into me again, I think over all the events that have happened lately. The Salamence attack feels distant, like a bad dream. Vie will recover from the loss; I know she will. Hale doesn't seem too bad off for seeing his own parents getting killed first-hand. Phendrene is a nice relief from all the commotion, and I find myself not caring about her origins. She's nice, and that's all that matters. Mum doesn't seem too emotionally affected, but she's probably just trying to make me not worry. Whatever, she's an adult, she can handle herself.

What she can't handle though, is me waking up first in the morning and apparently being under her.

"Mum?" I ask softly, afraid to wake up Phendrene who's sleeping next to us.

"Go find Vie," she mumbles and scratches her head with her foreleg.

"Well, I can, but I'm, uh, under you."

"What?" she says in a voice that is probably too loud for this time of the day (it seems like early morning) and gets up immediately. Unfortunately she got up so fast she flung me up into the air and I land beside Phendrene with a thud, with the world upside down.

"Ow! Mum?" I'm immediately picked up by her again and held right at her face.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

"Yes, Mum," I tell her before she puts me down. It did hurt a bit but, well, I am okay. Except…

"Mum… is it okay if I ask why you are so… jumpy lately? Is everything fine?"

"No, it's just, I had a dream of, um, nothing… Don't go under me again." She stretches and rubs her eyes.

I don't really get what she just said, but I respond anyway. "I didn't. I was beside Phendrene when I fell asleep. And what dream did you have?"

"It's probably me then. I… tend to move around during my sleep a lot." Well, that's strange, too. She didn't move the night she told me about Dad. I don't remember any other times, either.

"But what about the dream?" I ask, before I quickly add a light "Never mind" when I notice her rubbing her face, which is slightly red.

"Mum, uh, are you going to be all right?" She's now just sitting on the ground and looking into the floor, panting slightly.

"No, I mean, yes it's alright, Nova," she responds, now clearly calmed down. "I… had a dream about… well, your dad."

It takes me all my willpower to not throw her a barrage of questions. That would be so inconsiderate. Because I realise just like Vie's parents, my dad is dead as well. I've been so worried about Vie… shouldn't I be worried about Mum, too? But then again, she has had so much time already…

So I snuggle up to her. "It's alright, Mum. I have dreams about him sometimes, too."

She gives me a caring look and then holds me up to her chest again. "It's… not a dream about him dying. I'm not even completely sure he's dead. You'll understand when-"

"He's not dead?" I blurt out, completely ignoring the rest of her words.

"Well, I think he is. It's just that… what he did, the chances of survival wasn't very high."

"What _did_ he do?" I blurt out again, when I realise I'm being inconsiderate again, just what I told myself not to do a few seconds ago. "Uh, sorry Mum, you don't have to answer if you want to tell me later."

To my surprise, she smiles. "You're only eleven and you're so mature already." She puts me back on the floor, and lowers her head level to mine. "The reason I'm not telling you now is… because you simply aren't old enough to understand some things. When I was your age, I thought my mate was going to be one of my best friends… turns out I was wrong. Thing is, you don't view things from the same viewpoint as a child and an adult. When I grew up, that made me terribly confused. I don't want that to happen to you. But I promise I'll tell you everything when you're older, okay?"

"Okay… Mum," I let out after her speech.

"You should probably find Vie now." Giving me a little lick on the face – she doesn't do that a lot – she walks over to Phendrene, while I'm left myself to ponder about what she means. Is there really something you can only understand as an adult? How do things work like that?

I shake my head and start crawling towards where I know Vie is. Mum – she cares about me, she won't lie to me, so she's telling the truth. And she promised me she will talk about it eventually, anyway.

Still, what she says lingers on my mind. I plan to talk to Vie about it, but it turns out she's missing. Hale is too. I'm tempted to wake Bane up and ask him but I don't know him that well so it's probably not very polite. Instead, I try and catch their scent, which is pretty hard because of all the other Flygon who are here, even if they are asleep. I manage though, probably because their scent is very similar, which amplifies it maybe?

I don't need to try and search for them, though, because they come back right after I catch their scent. Hale notices me first. "Hey," he says in a quiet voice. "We were coming to look for you. Wanna explore Lyrl a bit?"

"…Sure." I guess I'll just talk to them while exploring Lyrl.

But something inside me grasps at me, telling me that it isn't something to be discussed with other Trapinch, that it is something that belongs only to Mum and me. I ignore it, though. Nothing has ever turned out to be bad when I tell Vie.

When I start paying attention to my surroundings again, I'm already in some part of Lyrl I don't recognise. The scene's quite different from what I have seen before; just some Flygon hanging around, occasionally some Trapinch and Vibrava.

"Nova, why are you so quiet? Is it because I'm here?" I don't catch what Hale's words mean until I see the expression on his face.

"No, of course not! I was just, um, thinking about some stuff."

"Yeah, he does that a lot," Vie says to Hale, and he seems to relax a bit. "But what were you thinking about?" she adds.

"Well…" Yeah, I'll tell them. "My mum said she had this weird dream about my dad and told me about some stuff about picking mates. I'm not sure- why are you snorting, Hale?"

"Oh, it's just…" I can hear a mischievous tone in his voice, "your mum was probably thinking about… mating with your dad."

"Okay." Yeah, I think that's probable. But… "What's funny about that?"

"Why are you so oblivious to this?" Hale says like I'm very unusual or something. He turns to Vie. "Vie, what about you?"

"What about me what? I don't get you either. Of course she mated with Nova's dad. Otherwise Nova wouldn't exist."

"So you don't find it funny? Well, I guess our parents are dead, but-"

"It's not that, I just don't see anything funny about it," I say, trying to divert the topic back onto something less emotional.

"Wait, you don't know how dragons mate?" He snickers again. "And I thought you two knew everything."

Now that I think of it, I don't. I remember asking Mum sometimes when I was younger, but she always avoided the question and I assumed she just didn't want to talk about Dad.

"Well, not everything," Vie says, clearly flattered (by her own twin brother, no less). "But you can tell us if you don't mind."

Hale giggles in a way that makes me kind of scared. "Nah, I do mind. Let's talk about something else, heh." He crawls ahead quickly while making some incomprehensible noises.

"I don't get what's wrong with him," Vie says in a voice that contains some disdain. "But really, what did your mum talk about? The part about picking mates, not the dream."

Oh, that. "Well, she just told me something about best friends not being mates and growing up giving you better decision making. I'm not sure I understood her."

"Still, you're going to be my mate. I don't care if Hale giggles like a crazy idiot, I think we're going to be awesome."

Things are really coming back to normal. She just called Hale a crazy idiot. Wait, I don't have time to mull over stuff like this. "Yes, we are." I smile and crawl forward and expect to find the crazy idiot Hale giggling.

But instead I find him shouting at another Trapinch. Rushing forward with Vie, I manage to catch the scent of the other Trapinch – it's Dree, the one that dragged Dice away from us – before Hale pushes her into the fountain.


	5. Chapter 5

Vie drags Dree out of the water. Hale is still there, fuming, but not saying anything. I'm hesitating whether to go forward because I don't want to get hurt but I want to make sure Hale is okay. Dree looks like she's coughing up some water. Vie says something to Dree that I don't hear, but Dree just ignores it and runs off. I finally get the nerve to crawl up and ask Vie, "What just happened?"

Vie doesn't seem all that happy, either. I think she put on the happy face just to make sure Dree doesn't get angrier. "Go ask Hale. I bet _he_ knows why he almost drowned someone."

Asking Hale what happened would be the last thing I'd do because he doesn't seem like he's in a good mood. I'm not sure what to do, so I just say softly, "Let's go back."

None one object.s Vie still glares at Hale for causing this but whenever she does I step between them and force myself to ask Vie some irrelevant question about studying which hopefully grabs her attention. Hale crawls in the front (I don't know the way) silently.

I am the one that is a crazy idiot to think things are coming back to normal. First of all, we're in a different place. Things are definitely going to be different. We might as well adapt to them since it's not going to change back. And also, death is irreversible. Maybe Vie and Hale are strong, but their lives aren't just going to be the same after their parents die suddenly. I know for sure if… if Mum died I'd probably still be crying every two minutes or something.

_Just stop_, I think. These thoughts really, _really_ aren't helping me at all. I said that we're going to adapt, right? Then I'll figure out what caused Hale to be so angry and smooth things over with Dree. I think Dice might help, if I'm able to find her again.

When we get back, Vie goes somewhere really quickly. I let her so that she can cool off. Hale's still quite upset, so I ask him, "Do you want to play pebble dodge?"

"…What's that?" He says after a moment.

Vie hasn't told him? "It's a game… well, we get a pebble and try to hit each other by flinging it with our mouth." I don't think mentioning Vie right now would make him happier, either, so I leave her out of it for the moment. "Do you want to try?"

"Sure. Do we just find any pebble?" he asks offhandedly while digging the sand lightly.

"Ye- there's one just there," I say as he digs down. This place really has a bunch of pebbles underground. That or Vie and Hale are blessed with something about finding pebbles.

We play it at where I played it with Vie yesterday. It's his first try so he isn't good but I purposely get hit a few times and compliment him for it. He starts going back to his cheerful self and only then do I mention that Vie invented it. He doesn't seem to care, though. Well, time to ask him what happened and fix things, I guess.

"So, what happened, um, back at the fountain?" I ask tentatively.

He flinches for a moment but doesn't seem to be too shaken. "Oh. I just got mad at that other Trapinch because she was…" He breathes deeply as if he's trying to contain some sort of anger. "She just insulted me. Really badly."

By the looks of it I probably wouldn't want to know what Dree actually said. "Um, did you do anything to make her angry?"

"What? Of course not!" he retorts indignantly. "She's just- well, I kind of bumped into her but that doesn't- It doesn't matter! I won't do it again, okay? I just don't want to talk about it."

He sounds more upset than mad right now. "Okay," I respond.

He crawls away to somewhere and I don't follow him. I try and find Vie, which makes me go to where she sleeps. I don't find anyone there that I know, and I don't think she wants to talk right now (otherwise she'd just find me), so I go back to find Mum.

I really hope Hale keeps his word, because if he doesn't, this is what happens. None of us talking to each other. Oh well, I guess I have Phendrene, unless Mum brought her hunting again. On second thought, she probably did. But when I arrive Mum and Phendrene are already both there, eating some Sandshrew. I join in.

"Nova? You probably remember this but there's school in the afternoon, okay?" Mum stops eating and asks.

"Okay," I say before I start eating.

Phendrene's quite happy for some reason and keeps on giggling. Mum tells me that Phendrene was the one who managed to find the Sandshrew. I guess I'm supposed to feel happy for her but somehow that just makes me sad because it reminds me what a horrible hunter I am, or rather would be, if I ever bothered trying.

Does it matter? Vie said she'll hunt for me. I try and direct my thoughts to the school and fail before giving up and digging in another piece of meat.

Mum decides to just hang around a bit while Phendrene plays with her tail. I crawl off to the fountain and find some Trapinch there. Vie almost lunges at me the moment I come into her sight.

"I couldn't find you! Where were you?"

"I was eating with Mum the whole time," I answer, confused. She could have easily found me if she wanted to since I wasn't wandering around.

"None of you were there. Did you go somewhere else?"

"Well, I guess I did play pebble dodge for a while-"

"Wait, with Hale?" Her tone changes into a weird exaggerated version. "That idiot, why on earth did he push-"

"He promised not to do it again. Come on, Vie, can't we just all be friendly and not get upset?"

"Yeah, if Hale just-"

"_Vie."_

"Okay, sorry. But seriously, what made you pebble dodge with Hale? You're not the type that does that. Actively trying to play with others, I mean."

"Well, I wanted to know why he, uh, pushed Dree into the water. So I tried to get him in a good mood. Um, don't tell him."

"Did he tell you? I really don't want this type of stuff to happen. It's stupid."

"I did get him to promise to never do it again. But that's it." I start to feel nervous for some reason, so I try and change the topic. "Where is he, anyway?"

"He'll be here. Well it's actually quite good to know that he likes studying because I was afraid he might have just stopped going to school without Mum sort of forcing him to."

No, not about your dead parents, Vie. Something else. "I don't get why some of the Trapinch don't go to school. I mean, I guess hunting doesn't need too much knowledge, but… wouldn't it be boring if we just hunted all day?" I ask.

"It doesn't matter. I don't want to know them, anyway. Like those two Trapinch that were kind of threatening – well not threatening, but kind of mean to Phendrene that day. They're not… civilised."

"Maybe they just have different views on things and we're not used to it," I try and reason. Maybe the reason Dree insulted Hale is that all the Trapinch here insult each other jokingly and we might just take things differently. Like how Vie calls Hale crazy. Dree didn't mean any harm.

By the time Bell (our Arts Educator) gets here it's already quite noisy with some other Trapinch doing some play fights.

"Alright, calm down," he says in the bland tone he always uses, which kind of makes me unnerved since that's the tone everyone used right after the Shallows got attacked. But I'm used to his voice being like that, so it's not that bad. He doesn't really stand out except that he's kind of… thin. And his arms are kind of long. But even if he doesn't stand out it's not exactly hard to follow him in a bunch of Trapinch.

Finally more school. I've missed it.

We follow him into a surprisingly clean and neat room with pristine white walls. The room's completely empty, though, so there's not much order as we settle down. I manage to hold onto Vie as she crashes through the crowd to the front. Bell tells us to calm down one more time before starting to speak.

"Okay, so, some of you may be aware that your parents have complaints about the Arts course. They say that it doesn't serve much purpose like Science or Language. I'll take some of the classtime to explain to you why.

"Let's start with a simple question. What's the purpose of living?"

My foreleg's raised along with a few others but he doesn't pick me. "Fera?"

"To reproduce?"

I hear Hale giggle (he really is a crazy idiot) before Bell sighs. "I didn't mean it that literally. I meant what you want to achieve. Is it really just finding a mate? Or is there more?"

My foreleg still up, but Bell still doesn't pick me. I think he's just trying to get others to speak more since I speak all the time in class anyway.

"Ran?"

"To hunt so we can eat."

"Is that all? What about us Educators who don't hunt? Does that mean we have not fulfilled our purpose in life?"

Ran seems slightly taken aback and stirs slightly in his seat. I stretch my foreleg so hard that I feel it might break. There's only one other raised foreleg in the room and she's not going to give a satisfactory answer.

"Jay?"

"Our biological purpose is to reproduce. However, since we have sentient minds we also seek for leisure. I'd say that our purpose is to be happy."

"Very good." She did? Oh well.

"Nova, you can put your arm down now," Bell says. Well, technically, it's my _foreleg_ but I do what he says anyway. "Yes, leisure may not be essential for our survival, but it is an integral part of our lives. Can you imagine a life with battling – or should I say play fighting?"

Yes, I can imagine it. But I think that's just me.

"There's also things we can learn from these. For instance, singing is considered to be a popular pastime. Does it achieve anything tangible? No. But we like doing it, so we do it."

Really? Normally I take the Educator's words for granted, but… is this what's life about? Enjoying it? How can something be about enjoying itself? That doesn't even make sense.

I try and apply the situation to myself. What do _I_ want in life? It was always something like "becoming good at intellectual stuff", but that is just way too vague. And what about finding mates? Well, maybe Vie, but I don't exactly see that as my purpose in life. And why does Hale giggle every time we talk about mates?

I clear my train of thought. I'm supposed to pay attention to the Educator during school time. Not having random thoughts. I have plenty of time for that when I'm not in school.

It turns out the class isn't too interesting, either. Sure, it's quite fun talking about how stories work and stuff, but do we need that? But didn't Bell tell us that that was the point of life, anyway?

And there goes my mind again. Off to the snowy mountain when I'm in a desert.

I manage to restrict my thoughts enough so that by the end of school I've absorbed all the information it has to offer. It doesn't feel that well, though, so I plan to say all my stuff to Vie just to let it out.

The problem is, I didn't keep an eye on her on the way out and now I can't find her. She must be around here somewhere, or is she just really hungry or thirsty or something?

I think I catch her smell for a second but then I realise it's Hale who's clearly thinking about something. Oh well, maybe I can ask him why he giggles all the time.

"Hale?" He hears it and turns around.

"What? Nova," he adds my name in after a pause.

"It's just, uh, why do you always giggle? When mates are mentioned. Or something to do with them."

His face lights up in some sort of mischievous glee. "Oh, it's- heh, don't you want to know?"

"Know about what's so funny about it? …Sure," I say, slightly nervous, because his look is getting creepier by the second.

He's giggling harder than ever and I start to feel slightly uncomfortable. "Sorry," he says. "It's just… Okay! No more hesitation! The reason I laugh is because it's funny how we have to-"

Five minutes later I'm drinking at the fountain and thinking about what Hale said. Okay, I guess it is slightly embarrassing – I can't really imagine being mates with Vie now – but I still don't really get what's so _funny_ about it. Maybe it'll get funny when we grow up into Flygon, or maybe even Vibrava, when we actually have to worry about it in the near future. That's still at least 10 years away.

I overdrink a bit but stop in time, remembering the incident yesterday. I'm not sure where to go when I see a slightly red Trapinch in the distance and crawl over. "Dice?"

Right after I say it, I realise it's not Dice. Firstly because this Trapinch is distinctly older than me by at least 2 years and that the scent is that of a male. I also realise he's talking to someone else, another Trapinch, who's apparently buried half-underground.

He continues speaking so I decide just back off, but then he turns around as the other Trapinch sinks into the ground. "Oh, sorry," he says, his voice kind of high but also kind of serious, "I was busy. I'm Slice, I think you're looking for my sister, but I haven't any idea where she is. Or do you want to just transfer a message to her?"

Something about him, probably his formality or his big size, that stops me from speaking for a bit. "Oh, nothing," I manage to say after a few seconds, "I just wanted to talk to her. As in, about random things. Sorry."

"It's all right. Well, see you." He then crawls off to the fountain and I just watch him for a bit. Then I shake my head. It's probably some different custom of Lyrl? Or is everyone like that when they're older? Vie's brothers don't seem like that but I don't really know them. Whatever, I'll find Dice later.

I go back to the fountain and from there, to where Phendrene presumably is. I almost forgot about her. Whatever the case is, she definitely can't be satisfied just playing with her tail for _that_ long. She's probably okay, though. Mum's around too, I think, and she can keep her occupied by telling Phendrene random things.

But before I reach where I sleep (I seriously need a term for that), I hear Vie calling my name and I turn around.

"Where did you go after school ended? I couldn't find you," she says, slightly annoyed. "Anyway, I just really wanted to talk about something."

Did Hale tell her too? Oh, this will be awkward.

"What's the meaning of life?"

I almost choke on my saliva. "Wait, _what_?"

"Well Bell was talking about it, right? I'm not sure if Jay's answer is really accurate so…"

I grin slightly. So Vie agrees with me that Jay is wrong! Of course, she's my best friend. "Yeah, I don't think so either. What do you think?"

"I'm not that sure. Don't you know? Didn't you have your hand raised but Bell didn't pick you?"

Oh right. "Well, I was just thinking life is to do what you want? Whether it's be with your friends or hunt or mate or that leisure thing or whatever."

"Yeah, me too. What I want to do, though, is to go kill all the Salamence."

I actually do choke on my saliva this time and cough. "Wait, _what_?"

She sighs at my repeated reaction. "They killed my parents and my brothers. And now our lives are so different. I know it's not that plausible, but I can dream." She grins somewhat maliciously.

I feel that the statement's still too severe. "But, all the Salamence? Maybe the ones that are in charge of the raids or something. What about the ones that didn't do anything?"

She shrugs. "It's not like I'm going to actually get around to doing this if we're stuck here the whole time. I just wish I could. But you're super smart so you can go devise a plan when you grow up, or something like that."

"Uh, not really." Even if it is Vie calling me super smart, it's still embarrassing. "I think we should figure out how to solve the temporary problems first. Like, Hale being a crazy-" Wait, I'm not his twin sister, I can't call him that out loud. "Hale and other Trapinch messing up. Well not messing up, but-"

"But can't we work on the long term goals first? Let's go play pebble dodge. We're not exactly going to kill Salamence by flinging stuff but it's good exercise."

I thought she said that it was implausible and she wasn't really going to do it? "Uh, okay. Wait, let me check on Phendrene first. You go find a pebble. I'll be there really quickly."

"Okay." She nods and crawls off. I find my way back to our place, and Phendrene seems to be talking happily to another young female Trapinch. Well, she seems to be alright. I don't disturb them and head towards the pebble dodge area. Vie's waiting with a smirk that has none of the maliciousness from her Salamence statement. I return it as she flings the pebble at me. I dodge it and pick it up almost immediately. I watch as the pebble leaves my mouth and travels in an arc in the air before it hits Vie.

Time passes. Mum hunts. Hale giggles. Phendrene sleeps. Vie talks. I meet Dice more as she introduces me to some of her friends. Sometimes I catch Silex looking at me. It's some holiday of Lyrl, then Vie and Hale's birthday in May, then my own. Bane finishes growing into a Flygon. I almost never lose at pebble dodge. Vie still talks about killing Salamence occasionally, even if she acknowledges it's very unrealistic.

I was actually right, I realise. 3 months, and we've settled in.

There are definitely differences from our lives at the Shallows, though. We can't wander freely, and once Hale tried to dig his way out but it was blocked. Phendrene is a constant presence in our lives, even if she still doesn't talk. I asked Mum what was up with her once and Mum just said that she isn't very talkative. And school doesn't have tests anymore, even though the content is pretty much the same.

The biggest difference, however, is definitely the presence of one of Dice's friends, Zeta. He's very scientific and stuff and we talk about stuff like cells and logical paradoxes that leave Vie and Dice in confusion. And showed me this bug thingy – not an actual insect, but some techy device you could use to listen to other conversations. Now after 3 months, we talk to each other quite a lot now.

I crawl across the sand, trying to find Zeta at the fountain. Now that I've had plenty of time to interact with it, I realise it's somewhat different compared to the Shallow's sand. It's slightly drier when you dig through it. Maybe it's because we're deeper into the desert.

I look up. Zeta's not at the fountain right now. I decide to find him later, and turn around. But before I leave, I hear something that attracts my attention. I hear Mum's name.

"Why aren't you talking to Shell lately?"

I turn around again quickly and realise that two Flygon are conversing across the fountain. I recognise the voice easily. It's Silex.

Memories of Mum talking about Silex come rushing back into my mind. I get a better look at them and I see Silex is looking at the other Flygon who is resting is head on his arms and just looking into the water.

"I don't know. Ever since we came to Lyrl she hasn't really paid any attention to me. I think she's thinking about Blight," the other Flygon says.

"Well, of course. He was her mate," says Silex.

Blight's my dad's name? I never even knew. …Mum said she would talk to me when I was older. I am older, right?

"Yeah but," starts the other Flygon, "I just don't get why she would-"

"Skein, we've been through this," Silex interrupts, though not unkindly. "She chooses what she does. You can't change it."

The other Flygon, Skein, stares into the water for a few seconds. Then he sighs. "Okay. I'm going back to check on Ray. I don't think she'd like me to think about this stuff. …Bye, Silex."

"That's good. It's not healthy to dwell on stuff." For some reason Silex sounds like an overprotective mother here.

Skein gets up and walks around the fountain, completely ignoring me, and heads back to where the Shallows Trapinch live. My eyes follow him until he's out of sight. Then I look around and realise Silex is looking at me. She catches my look and smiles, like she always does when I ask questions about history or other topics, before walking off.

Maybe I should walk up to her and ask her questions. Or would she dislike it? Mum wasn't very happy with me asking questions about Silex. I don't think Silex would like it either. I'll just ask Mum after eating.

But I'm intercepted by an excited Vie on my way.

"Hey, Nova! I've come up with a plan! You and Zeta could make some super deadly poison and we could make the Salamence eat it!"

There she goes again. Even though it's kind of… adorable, the way she's so excited about it. But really, I'd rather her be excited about something else.

"Well, at least this one's more realistic than your other ones. Like making a big tornado by digging tunnels? That would just collapse on you and you'd be buried!" I exclaim. "Forever…" I add in a exaggerated creepy voice that's not really creepy.

I grin to her widely, and she returns it. Just like old times.

"So, are you busy? Hale was complaining about school being hard and he'd like you to help him," Vie says nonchalantly.

I remember what I overheard at the fountain and I calm down almost instantly. "Oh, that. Uh, Vie, I have to talk to my Mum today. We don't have school tomorrow; I'll talk to him then, okay?"

"Okay. What are you talking to your Mum about? Can I come?"

I feel like speaking about it would dampen her spirits but I tell her anyway. "It's my dad, Vie. I was thinking about him."

"Oh." I'm right, the subconscious smile that was on her face is now broken into something that's only half a smile and half a look of awkwardness. "Well… if you don't want me to come, I'll-"

"No, it's okay." I tug on her leg. "I speak to you more than Mum, anyway. You'll help me speak better."

She gives a smile – a deliberate one this time – and crawls with me to our designated dwelling. No words are exchanged when Mum comes into sight. She's still talking about some stuff with Phendrene while lying on her stomach. She always does that.

"Mum?" I ask and crawl next to Phendrene. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Nova, I'm talking to Phendrene," she says, slightly impatient, "but it's not really important, so go ahead." She rises into an upright position and cleans some sand off. "What is it?" she adds and I realise I haven't been speaking and now all three of them are staring at me.

"Oh. Right." Where should I start? "Well, I just wanted to know more about, um, Dad."

Thankfully, she doesn't have a big reaction, although she looks slightly surprised. But she still stays silent for a few seconds before speaking. "Well, you are older now. And I guess you have a right to know about your own father." She sighs, which reminds me of that Skein. "Go ahead."

I glance at Vie for a second, unsure if I really should "go ahead", and she gives yet another encouraging smile. Phendrene seems somewhat bored, but stays, if only to poke at my left foreleg. She still seems to be cheerful, though.

Some part of me tells me that this isn't enough. It's about my dad and I haven't prepared anything at all. But some other part of me tells me that I don't need to prepare, that I have a right to learn about my parents and I can just ask whatever I want. Whatever, I'm here now, and Mum is willing to speak. I steady myself and swallow. Start with something simple.

"Is he dead?"

My voice sounds so different from my normal self. It sounds somewhat… scared. I'm not scared. Why is it like this?

"Probably. I've said wasn't very likely for him to survive. And if he did, I'm sure he would come back to find me."

Mum's voice sounds different, too. She doesn't sound scared though. She sounds sad. Am I really… no, you're here already, go through with it.

"What happened?"

I feel Phendrene stop poking my leg as she scuttles away. I have the feeling that she doesn't like this type of atmosphere. On my right, Vie moves in closer. Mum's eyes go out of focus then she blinks twice to orient them back on me. She inhales.

"He left to…" she pauses, "to do something dangerous."

The next line comes immediately. "Why?"

The noisy backdrop seems so unfit for the conversation we're having. Maybe that's why Mum looks around nervously. Or maybe it's because she wants to make sure certain Flygon aren't eavesdropping on our conversation. Then she takes a deep breath.

"I didn't want him to either. He got convinced… by someone else. He was very talented, you know? Both strong and smart… so someone else convinced him to do it. Because that someone else thought he was the best one to do it. And that someone else is very good at persuasion. He didn't even know I was going to have… you. Maybe if he did, he wouldn't have left…" She stops and blinks and looks up.

She's crying again.

"Sorry Mum." I can't find anything else to say but that, because I'm the one who inflicted this upon her.

"No, I'll tell you. Stupid goggles, can't wipe tears." She chuckles a bit. "Anything else?" Her face has another smile, a smile I've seen her wield many times when I was younger.

I'm unsure as to whether I should continue or not before I'm reminded that someone else is here. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think I better leave you two alone." I turn around and see an embarrassed Vie crawling away.

_Maybe you should have left quietly like Phendrene, then_, I think with a surprising amount of hostility, considering it's towards Vie. But I suppress the feeling – I know it's irrational. Now, I really don't know if it's better to continue asking Mum stuff.

She starts first, though. And she doesn't stop. "I'm pretty sure you're wondering who that someone else was, right? It's Silex. She convinced your dad to go and… That's why I hate thinking about her. To think that she was the one who raised me after my own parents died when I even younger than you, I technically should owe her everything I have.

"She isn't a bad Flygon or anything. When she was my age, she raised plenty of Trapinch that lost their parents. She's still doing it. That's why she took Hale and a bunch of others from the Shallows over here. They probably would have died if not for her.

"It's stupid, really. I should have told you this long ago. It's just… after Silex convinced your dad, I felt that I couldn't really trust anyone anymore. I know I can trust you, it's just this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that makes me keep everything to myself."

She wipes a little tear streak that's coming out of her right goggle, lifts me up, and gives me a big hug. "You're really a great Trapinch, you know? Even if you don't like to hunt, you're brilliant at school. And you're the best son ever for caring about me so much." She puts me down back on the floor and now she has the big grin back on her face.

For some reason, her praise doesn't make me feel better. In fact, it makes me feel guilty. Am I really asking because I care about her so much? Or is my curiosity just getting the better of me?

I decide I've gotten enough out of Mum and made her go through enough emotional toil that I'm getting really selfish. "Thanks, Mum," I get out, but I'm unable to say anything else. Instead I just wave at her and go off to find Vie. I can feel her look on me as I crawl into the crowd.

This isn't like how I expected it. I expected that whatever knowledge I gained, I would just think and think and think about it. But now, all I feel is a feeling that it was selfish.

Mum was okay with it. It's the best consolation I can give myself.

Whatever the case is, I don't think I'm going to be able to ask her anything else. Not for a long time. I physically can but I just don't want to.

I stop thinking about this and force myself to observe my surroundings. The sands still the same. Vie's place is in that general direction. There's not much activity since it's afternoon and the adults are out hunting while the children are probably playing. I arrive and see Bane (I'm not that used to him being a Flygon) talking very seriously to Hale about something, but Vie's not there. I decide against disturbing them and just head back to the fountain. Maybe Zeta will sate my curiosity about some other things, but we pretty much told each other everything we know. Well at least this type of curiosity doesn't result in tears.

Tears. How do they work? Why do they exist? How do the tears even leak out of the goggles when they are sand-proof? Is it made of a soluble substance? Suddenly I have another perfect topic to discuss with Zeta.

But he's not there at the fountain. I wait for a minute, five minutes, ten minutes, and even when I lose track of time and the sun goes, he still doesn't come.

This has got to be the worst day since the Salamence stuff happened.

I convince myself that as long as I don't bother Mum about things again (because I know she wasn't okay with it, she's just putting on a show for her little child), I'm free to think about stuff. And so the more I think about what she said, the more I realise that Mum was deliberately avoiding something one point – _what_ dangerous thing Dad had went to do. She probably has some other reason, and I don't think I'm willing to make her cry and go through all that again. So either I ignore my curiosity or I find another way. Like asking Silex. That would be awkward too, though; what if she starts crying like Mum? I picture a crying Silex and finding that it's very disturbing. I shake my head. It won't work.

Maybe ignoring my curiosity would work. And the first step to that is to get moving and start talking to someone so I don't have to muse by myself for this long. Why have I just waited here and done nothing for at least half an hour?

I crawl impatiently back towards the clearing to find Vie. And it turns out she's still not there, and neither is anyone else. I start to feel even more upset and crawl back to where I live. Mum's not there, but Phendrene is. Thankfully. She seems to be just lying there, though.

"Hey, Phendrene," I say. She turns her head, which reveals a neutral (if a little bored) face, which instantly blooms into a smile. That happens quite a lot lately, and I have to say I'm flattered.

She pushes herself upright, and for a moment it looks like that she wants to say something, but nothing comes out. And the situation becomes really awkward, because normally either Mum or Vie would make some conversation. But I don't really speak unless talked. Seems like I'm going to have to make an exception because this is getting more awkward by the second.

"Where's my mum?"

Then I realise it's probably a terrible question to ask someone who doesn't speak because she can't explain things. But she goes over to Mum's box and takes out something and hands it to me. Well tries to, because I can't really grab onto glass jars.

"Just put it down," I tell her. She does, steps back and looks at me expectantly. I try and read what's on the label but her look is quite distracting. I ignore it and manage to read it.

"Dried Numel, it says," I tell her, assuming that she couldn't read it. "What's with it?"

She doesn't react to the name much. But then she somehow manages to maintain her smile and express disgust at the same time. She doesn't like it. Then she points at a Flygon eating Sandshrew to the left and widens her smile. She likes fresh catches. So I guess Mum is probably catching some fresh meat.

But something else enters my mind. Why doesn't Phendrene talk? I've wondered about this but never really thought extensively about it. If she were shy then she'd not even bother getting up, let alone miming to me about her feelings. It doesn't make much sense.

So I decide to ask her as she puts the jar of Dried Numel back. I hesitate for a moment when I see her smile; will she break down in tears like Mum? Then I tell myself that the notion is stupid because your dead mate and why you don't talk are two drastically different topics.

"So, Phendrene?" I try and get her attention because she's fiddling with some more sand, "Why don't you ever talk?"

I see her smile falter as she lets the sand scatter through her claws. She directly looks at my eyes. And runs off.

I don't bother chasing after her because I'm so much slower than her. What just happened? I saw something in her eyes when she looked at me, although I can't pin it down. I seriously don't know what's going on. But what I do know is, this really is the worst day so far. I've upset Mum and Phendrene while Vie and Zeta are just missing.

I don't feel angry anymore. I just feel tired and empty. I don't think I'll make a good impression on anyone in this mood. So I just dig straight down. And when I'm deep enough, I dig horizontally as the sand collapses on me.

The darkness makes me feel better for some reason. Along with the smooth sand. I have a gut feeling that I'm going to cry but it doesn't come out. I try and dig horizontally, so I'm not just doing nothing, but I can't. Like any other physical activity that's not pebble dodge, I completely fail at it.

But I have to be doing something. I can't just stay here. I'll start being curious about thing again and it will just hurt others. So I just twist my head around in the sand in random loops. It makes me dizzy and my mind fuzzy. And when that gets boring, I try and feel my face with my forelegs. My face feels rough but kind of smooth at the same time. My eyes are covered with a transparent layer of something to protect them from the sand. Zeta told me that. No, no thinking about other dragons. The insides of my mouth is wet and my forelegs aren't long enough to feel my teeth. I get some sand in by accident and spend a long time trying to get it out. Then I decide to just stay still and think about my dad. He's dead, I can't hurt him anymore, I can be curious about him all I want. Or can I? I'll just be tempted to ask Mum more questions. No, thinking won't work. I do more arbitrary physical actions to just pass time without thinking about anything. I'm feeling tired and out of energy when I hear some scuffles above me as there's an opening and I'm staring into the eyes of Zeta.

"What are you doing here?"

The fresh air distracts me momentarily. Then I'm suddenly aware of Vie and Dice around the top of the pit, next to Zeta, all staring at me.

"Nova," Vie says in a soft voice, "how long did you stay here?"

"How did you find me?" is all I say.

"Zeta noticed the sand here was scruffy," Dice says, somewhat impatient. "You should get out first."

I try and get up without their help but I slide down a few times and eventually Dice and Zeta just pull me up.

I find that my legs don't have much strength and I collapse onto the ground. I'm vaguely aware of Dice pushing sand back into the hole when Vie and Zeta converge on me.

"Why are you hiding in a pit? I couldn't find you anywhere!" Zeta exclaims, but Vie tells him to "shush" before looking at me.

"I'll tell you what happened first," Vie tells me in a quiet voice. "I was trying to find you when I met up with Dice and Zeta at the fountain who were also trying to find you. So I showed them to your place and Zeta said he thought the sand here looked different." She takes a noticeable breath. "Are you okay? You don't usually stay inside a pit."

I'm probably supposed to answer that but I don't manage to get anything else and just stare back at them. They exchange glances when Dice comes back and they whisper to each other. Probably about me. Maybe they don't expect me to act like this. I've never acted like this before.

"Well, I know the perfect way to cheer you up," Zeta says and my eyes suddenly come back into focus. "Come on, I'll show you something." He grabs my foreleg and tugs it with a conspicuous wink. I follow automatically.

It's not long until he presses some buttons on the wall and leads me into a tunnel. I come out of it a few seconds later into a small room lit by something called a light bulb with plenty of objects around – books, screens, boxes, and a lot more technical devices I can't name. Zeta himself is trying to find something at the back.

"There!" He grabs a book and puts it before me. "Vie told me you're really interested in them." I take a closer look and I notice a book that it's about Humans. "So I think you'd want to read them."

I feel a smile appearing on my face again. "Thanks, Zeta. Not now, though." I notice a little area with some cosy-looking brown mat thing. "Is this where you live?"

"Yeah, it's so different from your place, right? I probably should have showed you earlier. But my parents are quite strict on outside stuff, so…"

"Nah, it's okay." I find myself thinking coherent thoughts again. "I'm sorry that you had to find me in that… state."

"Oh, forget about that. I have a question about the Shallows now that I've seen a semblance of what it's like. Do you just leave your stuff out in the open?"

"Well, yeah." He's obviously implying that it's not a good thing to do, and in hindsight it's probably not a good idea. "No one takes anything from anyone else. I think it's because everyone got issued the same stuff there, and since they used to just put things in their cave it wouldn't really make a difference."

"Still, it doesn't make much sense. I mean, here we keep things secure maybe because we use more money, but… I mean, every living thing, including everyone here is self-serving, so there must be someone that would steal stuff."

I think of the Dried Numel jar. "Well, I think there are things that might be worth stealing, even if we don't use money much. Actually, I'm not really sure of even that because Mum does everything. But maybe everyone is just good-natured."

"I think you're being too optimistic, but if there's no real problem I guess it's no point discussing the theory." He cocks his head. "But there are still other questions. How can you just live like this, next to tons of other families? I mean, if someone got a contagious disease it would spread easily. And there's no privacy. How would the adults mate with each other, then?"

The last comment silences me, for some reason. Zeta quickly starts speaking again. "Oh, seriously, don't tell me you're also embarrassed by mating. I mean, I honestly don't get what's so awkward about it."

"…I don't know, Zeta. Maybe you don't apply it to yourself. Like, imagine yourself… mating with Dice. Wouldn't that be awkward?"

"Maybe a little. But I have no idea what it would be actually like. Plus, we're not talking about ourselves here, so why do we have to apply things to ourselves?"

"Well, what you say does make sense, but it's still kind of awkward for some reason." I don't like what I'm saying, because it sounds irrational and I don't like being irrational around Zeta. But I can't pin down anything so I have to resort to it.

"If you don't want to, then we don't have to talk about it! But my point about the flaws in your current social situation still stands."

"I'm not sure, Zeta. I'm not so good at sociology – is that a word? – and all that stuff. But I have question and I'm pretty sure with all your resources here we can find the answer. What are tears and why do they exist?"

"Okay, that sounds like a more solid topic. And to answer your question, yes, sociology is a word." He smiles and starts reaching upward to another book.

Surprisingly, we're not able find anything on tears. But when we are trying to, we talk about other subjects. Like we've been doing at the fountain for the past few weeks. I really am grateful for someone that shares the exact same interests as me. It's almost as if I've found a lost twin.

It's a while before Zeta tells me to leave. "I think you should go now. My parents wouldn't want other Trapinch in here. Oh, and about why you were in that pit, talk to Vie about it, okay?"

His words are on my mind as I leave through the tunnel. So they organised something like this to clear my mind? I guess I did act rather out of turn – I haven't really done anything like that before. Maybe it's because I can dig better now? I'm not even sure myself what came over me.

I suppose I'm meant to go to Vie right now but I head back to my place instead, probably because I'm hungry. Mum's standing there, looking at Phendrene, who is digging into the Sandshrew. She notices me almost instantly.

"Nova! Where were you?"

"I went to, uh, Zeta's place. You remember him?"

"Zeta? I think you told me about him before. Anyway, I think you should start eating, or Phendrene will eat everything!" She chuckles a bit. Maybe she really did think I helped her. So maybe I should stop feeling so bad about it. But she did cry. Or are you able to cry "happy" tears?

I dig into the Sandshrew alongside Phendrene. She perks up for a moment and I find the urge to ask her something. "Are you okay?" I whisper to her.

She seems slightly confused at the question but then she grins and nods her head fervently.

Maybe Phendrene is okay with it, too.

I continue to dig into the Sandshrew when Phendrene finishes and skips away to somewhere. I look up to Mum looking back at me and realise that I can ask a question that doesn't hurt anyone.

"Mum?" I stop for a second and realise she's not actually listening. "Mum?" I repeat, and she seems to snap out of something and shake her head.

"What? Oh, sorry, Nova, what is it?"

I try and ignore the implications that she had her mind on something else and focus on the present. "Do you know why… Phendrene never talks?"

"Oh, that." She doesn't seem fazed by the question. Good. "Well… yes, I do. But it's kind of a long story. Do you still want to hear it?"

I hesitate a bit, but then I nod.

"Okay then," Mum says and lies down on the sand, supporting her head with her arms. Like Skein.

"So, you must be wondering how Phendrene just came out of nowhere in the desert, right? She wasn't on her own, originally. She was with her mother.

"Her mother's name was Dream. Dream didn't act flighty or mystical like her name would suggest. They were on their own, so she was very careful. But you know Phendrene, she's curious and wants to explore everywhere. So Dream let her, but warned her not to talk to anyone else.

"She did, though. She talked to a Salamence, and told the Salamence where their cave was. And when she got back, her mother was dead."

I gasp involuntarily. Mum shakes her head sadly. "She managed to survive a few days with what her mother had got beforehand. And then she found us.

"She tells me that she thinks of me as her mother. I guess I think of her as my child, as well. Skein says my oxytocin is acting up. But anyway, that's why she only talks to me and can't bear to talk with anyone else. She even acknowledges that it's not very sensible. She says just doesn't feel like ignoring her mother's actions again."

I feel like I understand Phendrene better now, but still not completely. How does she maintain a smile all the time? Is it because she's young or is it because she's innately cheerful?

It's probably natural so I don't bother asking Mum about it. Instead, I ask her about other questions that pop into my mind.

"Why were they alone, though? Do Charmander – I mean, Charizard not live in groups? And are they also in Aeride Desert?"

Whatever I have learned from my education is that Charizard don't live here. They live all the way southeast, past the Drylands. I was jealous of them for not having the Salamence to bother them until Silex told me they had to deal with the Garchomp. I haven't seen a real Garchomp, so I can't really judge, but… it's still unfair that we have to deal with the Salamence.

I snap back from my thoughts and realise Mum has been completely silent. Her face is a mix of indecision and determination, which is really weird because I don't think that was a sensitive question.

She takes a breath in heavily and releases it. "Nova, I'm telling you this because you're my son. But you have to promise me never to tell anyone else. Not even Vie. And try not to mention it even if only Phendrene and I are present. Okay? Promise."

Mum doesn't seem emotional, just very serious. "Okay. I promise." It comes out without any conscious thought.

Mum glances around a bit again, and moves her head down towards my face. "Dream was a Flygon. She could hunt better in the desert. I knew her when I was young."

Okay, it's quite surprising – very surprising, actually, but not shocking or anything. "I think I remember learning that dragons can all interbreed. It's natural, right?"

"…If you say so," she continues with a small voice. "But that means Phendrene's a half-blood. It'll be more trouble than the fact she's a Charmander. Don't tell anyone."

I'm starting to regret asking for this information. It seems so sinister. "I won't, Mum," I respond, with far more care than my previous line.

"Good." She moves her head away slightly. "Anyway, you know all the stuff I told you about Silex? That convinced me to go and talk to her. I haven't in such a long time." Her glazed goggles shine as she turns her head. "I don't think you should come, though. In case… in case it doesn't go well."

But I do want to go with her. And I remember something.

"Wait, Mum, I have an idea! I could use this bug thingy that Zeta has to listen to it without being there!" I shout out, perhaps a bit too cheerfully.

Mum hesitates for a moment, and then smiles. "Alright, if you want. I'll wait for you around here." I crawl off and try and find Zeta's place again. When I glance back at Mum she's talking to another Flygon about presumably some random normal topic.

I'm not sure what happened, but I don't feel all that guilty about wanting information anymore. Maybe it's seeing Mum's sincerity, maybe it's knowing that Phendrene wasn't upset about me, but I really do want to know more. About Dad, and maybe Phendrene too.

Phendrene. Her Mum's a Flygon, which means her dad must be a Charizard, right? And a half-blood. I'm not going to mention that to anyone, but I think it would be fine just asking what a half-blood is. And what's so bad about it. From what I've gathered, it probably means that your parents aren't the same species. Still, I'd like to get some confirmation from Zeta. He definitely knows.

Vie stops me before I even get out of the area with a nudge to the side that almost makes me fall over. "Where do you think you're going?" she says, although in a playful tone.

"Watch it," I respond as I steady myself. "I'm going to Zeta to get this bug thingy to listen to stuff. And I'm not upset anymore, so no need to try and calm me down or try and give me some therapy or anything, okay?"

"What?" She actually seems genuinely confused.

I sigh. "Look, just follow me for now. Mum's waiting," I tell her and try and crawl ahead.

Vie catches up easily. "We can talk while we're crawling. How did you know I was going to talk to you about the pit thing?"

"It's really obvious. Anyway, I just thought I made both Mum and Phendrene upset so I felt kind of bad. Turns out they're not upset so I'm completely fine, alright?" I sound kind of upset myself right now which probably doesn't help me.

Vie seems to buy it, though. "Okay, okay. But can you teach me how to clean up dig spots that well?"

"What? I didn't really try to clean it up. I just sort of let it bury myself."

"That's weird. When I used to play hide and seek with Hale, he always found me really quickly. I could find him really easily too. Just look for the part of the ground that's really unnatural." She looks at me. "Are you sure you didn't instinctively do something to prevent it?"

"It's just a coincidence. Like the thing you said about drinking too much water and feeling sick, it doesn't really matter. And I need to tell you what I'm finding Zeta for. The bug thingy can let you listen to distances far away and Mum's going to take it because she's talking to Silex because they hadn't…" I trail off.

"I don't really get what you're saying."

I don't, either. Why am I telling Vie this? She's definitely not as fascinated about my parents as I am. Well, I do think she might care about stuff about my dad. "Basically we're going to eavesdrop on a conversation that might have info about my dad, but we're not going to be there because it's kind of a sensitive topic. Got it?"

"I think so," Vie replies unsurely. "Is this what made you hide into that-"

"Sort of," I interrupt her. "We're here, anyway."

I crawl into the tunnel "Zeta?" I call out.

"Don't come in!" he responds instantly.

It startles me so I stop quickly. I hear Vie ask, "What's going on?" from outside when Zeta says, "Alright, come in."

Slightly bewildered, I crawl through the tunnel and arrive in Zeta's room. He's lying in front of the tunnel, waiting for me to enter. "What was that?" I ask him.

"An alarm system. You should have told me you were coming. Or it'd make some alarms sound, and things would get messy. Especially because my parents don't want the Sh- I mean, other Trapinch coming in here." He looks at Vie crawling in. "Anyway, here's the book – you forgot to take it. You should go now, my parents-"

"I'm also here for that bug thingy. Is that okay?" I ask.

"Oh, that. Just call it the bug. And… yeah, it's okay. I guess." He reaches somewhere and grabs a little spherical thing along with a bigger machine with a rod sticking out, and puts them into a bag. "Here you go. Stick the little thing somewhere and it'll play on the big thing. I don't need it anytime soon, so give it back tomorrow or something."

I'm actually somewhat surprised that he's willing to just lend it to us this easily, but I don't think too much it. "Thanks," I say and exit hastily, but not before catching Vie whispering something to Zeta. Oh, I'll just let them plan more stuff about me. They'll stop when they notice that I am fine.

Vie comes out after me and asks me more questions about the pit and stuff. She's still sceptical about how well disguised my digging spot was. I just tell her that it's not very important and I need to get to Mum quickly. And as I predicted, when we get there Mum is simply lying on the floor, like she's thinking about something. She doesn't notice us until we're right next to her, so I assume she was quite focused on whatever she was thinking about. Probably about what to tell Silex.

"So, this lets you listen to stuff over a long distance?" she says as she stuffs the thing into the back of her antennae. "The technology these days. Anyway… I think I'm going to go and find her now. Also, if things seem to get… noisy, try and just stop listening. So, good luck, I guess?" she says sort of awkwardly, and walks off. It's kind of strange how she stops being intimate with me in front of Vie, but maybe she's just worried that Vie would get upset over her own dead parents.

Vie's stopped trying to ask me more questions about why I dug myself up, mostly because I told her several times already and she decided that I was telling the truth, but she was still wondering about how well it was disguised. I don't say anything, only halfheartedly listening to her since I'm also trying to pick up any noise that might appear on the machine.

The "Shh" comes out very quickly when I hear someone call Mum's name. Vie stops talking seems to be listening as well.

"Not now, Skein," I hear Mum's slightly distorted voice over the radio. "I'm a bit busy."

Skein sighs – does he do that a lot? – and speaks. "You're always busy."

Mum's voice sounds somewhat more caring the next time it's heard. "Sorry, Skein. I really am busy this time. I… I decided to talk to Silex."

It's almost as if I can actually hear Skein's eyes widen. "You… you haven't done that for… 12 years. You…"

"Sorry, Skein," Mum repeats. "I promise I'll talk to you after Silex, okay? Or you could come along, if you want."

"You… okay. Let's… go." Skein falls completely silent after that. Mum starts humming something, although she's not talking either.

I am half expecting Vie to talk out of boredom, but she doesn't. She just looks at me with a slightly worried expression. I ignore it, because if I act on it it'll just make her think that I really do need worrying.

It's a few minutes when I hear Mum's call. Its tone is completely like what you would call to get someone's attention but its volume is barely audible, and if I didn't know the context I wouldn't know what she'd have said. Mum clears her throat and tries again, much louder this time. "Silex?"

"Shell," responds a soft voice. She seems slightly surprised, but not as much as I would expect someone that hasn't seem their foster child for 12 years. "Do you need something? You can ask Skein to-"

"No, I'm here to just talk to you." It's weird, hearing Mum talk like this. Like she's a child.

Silex's voice paints an image of her smile in my head. Even if the words don't really fit. "So, you've forgiven me?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean… I still wouldn't want you to tell Blight to go… but it's been twelve years. How old was I back then?"

"It's okay." I hear my Mum gasp and suddenly Silex's voice sounds a lot louder. "I've missed you, Shell."

"This is awkward." I don't register where it comes from before I realise it's Vie speaking. I shush her hastily again, but there doesn't seem to be any talking for a while. All I can hear is the rather loud breathing of the two.

"Um, you don't need to… cry…" Skein says after I've almost forgotten about him. She's crying? Or is it Silex? Maybe I was inconsiderate about asking to listen to this. No, Mum said it was okay, stop making up random things in your mind, Nova.

"Sorry." Silex's voice shakes slightly. "What made you… come back?"

"I talked with Nova. He asked me about Blight."

For some reason, me being mentioned in another conversation elsewhere makes me feel embarrassed. But now she's talking about Blight – I mean, my dad. So I continue to listen.

"You two were the only ones that really knew him. I just saw him there and-"

"Skein, not here," Silex hushes, for some reason. "Anyway, I still… how have you been, Shell?"

"Good… I guess. Other than you know, the… Salamence which killed Sky. I'm a little unused to Lyrl, because we have to bring in more food for the Transporters who can't really do anything anymore… and Phendrene hates the manufactured food so I have to hunt for quite a lot."

"Phendrene's the Charmander, right?" Silex interrupts. "I need to talk to you about her. I've seen her, and she looks pretty cheerful – but Charmander don't smile like that. I've seen them before. You need to ask her."

"Maybe it's just that Phendrene smiles differently?" Mum says. That's what I think too. She is really cheerful, so it makes sense.

"No, I've seen a lot of Charmander, they never smile with their facial muscles bulging so much. I think she's forcing it."

"…Is she?"

Phendrene's not just forcing it! Silex isn't lying, she's probably just mistaken. There's no way Phendrene is doing it unnaturally.

"Nova?" Vie's speaking again and I realise I've been shaking my head subconsciously.

"It's okay. Shh," I say back as Skein starts talking.

"You really do treat the Charmander like your own, don't you? How did she even end up in the desert by herself?"

"She…" Mum utters lightly before stopping. "I don't think she'd want me to tell everyone. Anyway, Silex-"

"Come on, Shell," Skein teases, a lot more cheerful than what I've seen him like. "You know that we can keep secrets."

"Yeah, like _you_ kept Blight from Silex?" Mum shouts suddenly, anger evident in her voice. "Sorry," she murmurs right after. "Sorry!" she says again, as if Skein is walking away.

"Skein, she didn't mean it," comes Silex's voice, and somehow it sounds a lot more powerful than my mother.

Skeins voice comes lightly, and full of sadness. "Well, even if we did take Nova's dad from him… At least Blight got rid of the Hydreigon."

"He did." Mum's voice sounds like a subtle confirmation telling me that this is what I've been missing on.

Dad left us to kill the Hydreigon.

I suddenly feel like I don't want to listen anymore so I just push the button that stops the machine from playing.

"Nova?" Vie asks me, as if to reassure I'm alright.

"I'm okay," I say, but my vision becomes blurred. "I'm just sleepy." I lie down on the floor and close my eyes. It feels less dizzy this way.

"No, you're not. No one would be if… if they found out their dad left them to kill the Hydreigon."

"Maybe I'm no one, then," I respond, and I realise how stupid it sounds. "Seriously, I'm alright. Stop worrying about me!"

"Nova, I'm your best friend." Strange, that sounds familiar. "It's okay." She moves closer.

I let her. "It's okay," I repeat. "It's just… I… don't know. It sounds selfish, but I want a father… even if…"

"I know. I would do anything to bring my parents back," she answers, "but I can't. So… there's no point in feeling bad about it."

It's as if my dad just died, rather than several years ago. I don't get why it's like this. So what if I've learnt the reason? What's the difference?

Maybe it's that I know the Hydreigon wouldn't go down without my dad dying. That doesn't make sense, either. Or does it? If they weren't strong enough they wouldn't have got into power.

I decide that I should just let the topic go. "Yes, there's no point." What were we doing again? Right. "Are you still trying to counsel me or something?"

"Well, that was the plan, but it doesn't work on someone that's too smart to realise everything like you," she says.

I look at her.

"Oh fine, I'll not talk about that, modest guy," she says when she realises that I'm not speaking. "What do you think the part with Phendrene is about? Her smiling unnaturally?"

"She's not," I tell her firmly. And then I remember the part about her being a half-blood. But I can't tell Vie. I promised Mum. I did mean to ask Zeta, but I forgot again. Ugh. Maybe Vie knows something. But talking about it right after talking about her would be so suspicious.

"I don't think so either, but how are you so sure?" she asks me. "I mean, they do know more than us."

The idea that Phendrene might be faking is just ridiculous. But for now, I'm trying to change the topic, and arguing against her won't make that happen. "Yeah, maybe," I say, before starting another sentence. "What were you doing in the afternoon again?"

She responds to it immediately. "Bane took me out for a bit. I haven't hunted for so long! I didn't catch anything, though." Right. I haven't thought much about hunting since we came here but I can't say the same for Vie.

"I saw him talking seriously to Hale about something, though. What was that?" I continue to ask, trying to remember the half-blood thing I'm going to mention.

"Oh. He got upset when we came back that we didn't bring him, and Bane got fed up."

I was still trying to find her then. "Where did you go afterwards?"

"I was asking Navy if she got to hunt yet. Turns out she's hasn't even tried yet, although she really wants to. Her mum doesn't let her. Wait, where did you come up with so many questions?"

"Doesn't matter." I'm getting slightly impatient on talking about irrelevant things, so I start on half-bloods. "Vie, do you know what half-bloods are?"

I expect to get questioned for changing topics so much because it wasn't exactly subtle, but she just takes a step back. "Where did you hear about them?" she says in a kind of surprised and confused tone.

I make up an excuse on the spot. "I heard some adults talking about it, and I thought it sounded funny. What, is it something special?"

She closes her eyes, as if she is recalling something. "It's the opposite of special. Dad mentioned it to me once, when I heard Mum talking about it. He said that they were the children of two different species, something that shouldn't happen. Then he and Mum got into a fight." She opens her eyes and looks at me with a questioning look.

"Oh. Sorry." For her parents getting into a fight or for her having to mention her parents after they died? Both, probably. Still… "Is it really that bad?"

"Imagine if your mate was a Salamence."

I try, but my mind simply finds it impossible fit it together. "I can't."

"Oh?" she says, as if she can, "But still, that's the point! It's too unfathomable."

"Not really. What do _you_ come up when you think of a Salamence as a mate?"

She seems taken aback for a second. "Well… it's weird. I'd have to like my mate and if my mind comes up with a Bagon that's likeable… it's just really weird. I can't explain it."

I take a moment to register what a Bagon is. Then I realise that of course she'd imagine someone her own age (maybe that's why I couldn't get the image together). I don't try to imagine a female Bagon, though, in case she's right. "I still don't get how it's that bad."

"Oh, fine. Imagine your dad was a Salamence."

She sees my response instantly and moves closer to nuzzle me. "Sorry, forget I said that."

But I can't. My mind starts conjuring up scenarios where Mum was tricked by this imaginary male Salamence, or maybe even abducted and forced to mate with him. It scares me so much that my body decides to just collapse on the ground.

"I'm really sorry," Vie whispers, and shuffles in even closer. I gaze out distantly into nowhere, my imagination making up things that get worse and worse. I shake my head. Mum talked about Dad positively. These images are just my imagination playing tricks on me.

"I get your point," I say shakily, "about why it really is… that… bad…" But maybe it's just because of al our pent up hatred against the Salamence. I don't see anything too bad about Charizard.

"Are you alright?" she asks again, eyes close up against mine. I forgot to respond to her apologies, this time.

"Yes, I'm fine," I say out, and decide the best way to prove it to her is to act normally again. "It's only because that we're thinking of Salamence that it's so weird. What if…" I can't say Charizard, that'll bring attention to Phendrene. "What if my dad…" Sceptile doesn't work either, with Vie not liking them much and all. "What if my dad was a…" Garchomp seem quite hostile from what I've gathered, too. "What if my dad was a Dragonite?" I come up after messing up 3 sentences.

If Vie is disconcerted by my repetition, she doesn't show it. "Well, I guess it wouldn't be as bad. But still, I don't think it would be… mating with the same species is already…"

I find that I'm sick of this topic even though I used so much effort to bring it up. I see an opening with the fact that Vie learned that how we actually mate. I haven't talked about that with her. "So would you still want to be my mate now that you know, uh, what mating is like?"

"So Hale told you too?"

"Yeah, and it was a while ago. About when we just came, I think."

Her face goes into this thinking position as she looks down. After a bit, she asks, "What about you?"

"Oh, I don't know right now. To be honest, I think we will know when we grow up."

"But I know we'll be perfect for each other," Vie adds, nuzzling my face gently again.

I smile.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't like hunting.

But it's hard to avoid it when both Vie and Phendrene are literally dragging you to go. That, and Mum wants me to do it as well. She asked nicely, at least.

Vie kept on trying to cheer me up but I just responded with simple answers, so she stopped after a while. Phendrene's giggles don't even work. Hale's acting like his cheerful self. Cole's facial expression just tells me he's trying hard to withhold a bunch of disdain for us. I have to watch another sentient being die in front of me and get eaten, and they don't care.

At least the actual thing will be over quite quickly. Or not. Mum and Bane have been scouting around in the air for possible prey for quite a while already, and once I saw a Gliscor that cleared off immediately. Bane had decided that it was too obvious if two Flygon were in the air. Cole seemed happy that he wasn't stuck with us children on the ground anymore.

I can tell the two Flygon apart vaguely by scent – they smell similar, as does Hale and Vie – but Bane's noticeably taller than Cole. That, and Bane's serious while Cole's complaining about things a lot of the time. Which actually makes me happy because I'm also in a sour mood. Maybe I should talk to him, but I don't know him that well; I didn't even notice when he evolved into a Flygon.

"Why did we have to bring everyone on the trip? Trapinch are so slow," he said immediately as Bane landed.

Bane frowns. "You know it was pretty hard for the Lyrl authorities to let us all out for one night? I mean, I'm pretty sick of Lyrl. The fact that they just stuffed us all in a big area without any housing just makes me even more sick of it. And all the bureaucratic things like minimum prey brought in each day and stuff. Even if it's just one night."

Cole starts giggling for some reason. At least now I know where Hale got his from. Hale seems curious and Cole bends down and whispers something to him and now Hale starts giggling as well.

I decide I like Phendrene's giggles more, I speed up a bit to Phendrene who's rushing ahead of us Trapinch. Vie seems torn between following me and asking her brothers what they were doing, and decides to go to her brothers. Well, we weren't talking anyway.

"Phendrene?" She's staring at Mum but somehow managing to maintain a good speed. "Phendrene?" I ask again and she seems to snap back into reality and almost falls over. Then she trips over a rock and actually falls over.

"Sorry!" I say immediately, but she gets up just as fast and doesn't seems hurt. That was unlucky; this place is pretty much just plain sand and sun. She smiles again. It isn't the same smile that I'm used to. I remember hearing over the bug thing that Silex said Phendrene didn't smile naturally Mum said she'd ask Phendrene about it. Maybe Mum talked to her about it?

Speaking of which, after that day where I learned that my dad killed the Hydreigon, Mum asked me where I heard up to. I told her what had happened, except that it ran out of power instead of me shutting it off manually. I don't want her fussing over me being hurt or anything, because I'm not.

Walking with Phendrene is kind of like walking by myself – she doesn't talk. Even if I'm talking it's a one-sided conversation. And I haven't really talked to her in a while now; she is really dedicated to trying to learn to hunt, it seems.

Even though I really dislike hunting, I don't mind talking about it. I mean, I have to eat, so there's no point avoiding it. "So, Phendrene, do you like hunting that much?" I ask, careful to make a question that she is able to respond to without any speech.

She nods her head, but doesn't seem as cheerful as usual. I'm wondering why when a shadow passes us and I panic before realising it's Mum flying ahead and landing ahead on a fairly flat piece of land. She makes her wings vibrate, and there's this sound being made, but it stops for a while and she just stands there and waits for the rest of us.

Phendrene and I arrive first and Mum motions us to wait a bit for the others. They arrive noisily, with Cole talking about something called alcohol but shuts his mouth as he realises Mum has stopped.

"Normally I'd just go ahead, but Nova doesn't know this and I'm not sure about Vie and Hale, so I'm going to explain this." Wow, she sounds like an Educator. Wait, I shouldn't let my attention wander, she's specifically talking to me about this. Even if it's about hunting.

"I stopped because I saw the sand shift and noticed a few ants coming out of the sand. Don't worry if you can't notice anything, you'll see a lot better when you evolve. Sandshrew eat ants, so unless you find one wandering on the surface of the desert your best bet is to find an ant colony. You'll have to dig first, and if you're lucky you'll be able to catch a Sandshrew or two. If you're unlucky, there's going to be a lot of ants on you, but they can't do much more than be irritating. Technically, Trapinch are better diggers, but since you won't be a Trapinch forever, Cole should dig this time, because he needs to get used to using his arms and claws."

Mum walks over to us and makes an eye motion towards Cole, while he breathes deeply and walks to where Mum was and digs. "By the way," Mum says, "if you want, you can try making your wings vibrate. Sometimes they get curious and you get an easy grab. It doesn't work too often, though, because-"

Suddenly she leaps towards the side and digs furiously and I hear a snarl and out comes a flying Sandslash, startled. The Sandlash curls up into a spiky ball immediately and Mum wipes a scraped claw's blood on her other arm.

"That's what I meant. You could try it randomly, but that's until – Cole, keep on digging!" she stops and yells towards behind us. I hear some scuffles behind me, presumably Cole continuing his digging. "Anyway, that's until you've evolved," she finishes. "Phendrene won't be able to do that, but she has something else."

She gives a smile towards Phendrene and Phendrene walks up to the spiky ball. She's going to burn the Sandslash to death, isn't she? I turn around, looking at Cole who's not made much process when I hear Phendrene blow some fire on the Sandslash.

I flinch.

Then I hear "Nova, what's wrong?" coming from Vie when an alarmed shout from Phendrene reaches my ears as there's some more vigorous digging sounds. I turn back around and see that there's a dent in the ground and the tip of Phendrene's head is bleeding lightly.

"Sorry," Mum says quickly, "Sandslash are actually quite dangerous. Probably shouldn't have told Phendrene to do it. At least she was quick, though." She caresses Phendrene's head slightly like a praise and Phendrene smiles even more happily (which still looks different from what her normal smiles look like). Maybe that's what Silex was talking about. But it doesn't really matter.

"Nothing's wrong. What happened?" I whisper to Vie.

She scrutinises me for a bit and decides to let the "wrong" thing go. It's kind of weird she's letting so many things off so easily, but it's not as if I would complain about it. "The Sandslash got worried about the fire and uncurled itself and took a swipe at Phendrene. She ducked but her head still got hurt a little and the Sandslash dug and escaped."

"This is so cool!" Hale shouts before I can respond. Everyone looks at him. "Well, I really haven't seen a Sandslash before. Last time I only got a lame Hippopotas who was _sleeping_."

"You shouldn't view hunting as a sport. It's to get food, and since lives are involved it's much more dangerous," Bane tells Hale in an authoritative tone. "If you want physical activity go battle your friends."

I agree with Bane. If Phendrene wasn't quick, wouldn't she have died from a blow to the head? The Sandslash was fighting for its life, it wasn't going to take pity on a little Charmander. To be fair, Phendrene was trying to kill it back.

"If Lyrl doesn't really let us on these trips, why didn't we do it back in the Shallows?" Vie suddenly says.

"It's really dangerous for Vibrava," Bane begins again. "Trapinch have hard shells and can dig, while Flygon have a large body and strong muscles. But Vibrava are quite easy targets for other Pokémon – Gliscor, Sandslash, Durant, they can all prey on Vibrava. Vibrava are fast, though, so if they're just travelling it should be okay. But if they have to be with Trapinch, well, they're just sitting targets."

Hale says something about how he doesn't want to evolve anymore, but I really hear what it exactly is, because I'm wondering why Mum's not talking and just holding Phendrene in her arms silently (and Phendrene seems to be content to just be held there). "Mum?" I approach her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about one of my friends… he died as a Vibrava. It was a long time ago, so I'm… I'm over it." She smiles, although it just seems like a way to deter me from asking further. I don't.

"Cole, keep digging!" Bane says over to Cole when he stops again.

Cole seems really tired of digging now. "The sand keeps on sliding as I dig; I haven't even found any ants yet! And it's super-tiring."

Bane gives an exasperated sigh. "We still don't have any food yet. You know what, I'll do it." He walks over and Cole walks back gleefully.

Vie nudges me. "Nova, those ant things, are they Pokémon?" she asks.

"Huh?" The question was completely unexpected. "Oh, um, I'm not sure. I don't think they are, though."

"Then what are they?" Vie asks again.

"They're called "animals", I think," Mum tells us. "Like, they're not sentient or intelligent or anything. I learnt about it when I was a Vibrava."

"What are animals?" I ask her, curiosity piqued as well.

"Well, technically, for the semantic field of biology, we're also considered animals. But, well, I can't remember the specific definitions as to… I think you should just go ask Silex tomorrow.

"Shell?" I hear Bane call from over where he is digging. "I don't think there's still a Sandshrew or anything here anymore. It's stable- I mean, the sand's not moving anymore. Maybe it was that Sandslash."

"Oh," Mum responds. "Well, try your wings. If that doesn't work, we'll just keep on moving."

Bane nods and starts vibrating his wings, which stops the conversation between Hale and Cole. Everyone is silent when Bane stops, expecting something to burst through, but about half a minute passes and nothing happens.

"Let's keep on walking, then," Mum announces, with some slightly offensive verbal complaints from Hale about this being boring and Bane silencing him quickly. She puts Phendrene down but a "no" whine makes her pick Phendrene back up.

For some reason, I'm in a better mood than before, even though we got close to killing a Sandslash. Maybe the reason I wasn't feeling very well was just me refusing to talk. I guess that means I should talk to them, then.

"I want to go back to Lyrl now," I tell Vie.

"Well, I thought that's what you wanted all the time you were out." Her tone is slightly angry, which surprises me because she was fine just a minute ago.

I open my mouth to apologise to her but she stops me. "No, it's okay. You hate hunting. It's my fault that I made you come on this trip."

"What? No! I don't want to hunt, but I'll have to eventually, I can't just let other Flygon hunt for me forever." The moments the words leave my mouth, I question it. Zeta doesn't seem like he'll ever need to hunt if he continues on and does some technical job in Lyrl. Maybe I could do that as well.

I don't say this out loud, though, because Vie looks happier after what I've said. And then we start talking about random stuff like how Hale doesn't want to evolve or that alcohol thing Cole mentioned.

Not long later, Bane mutters something to Mum and she stops walking. Vie and I stop crawling and gaze at her as she speaks. "I don't think we're going to find any prey at this rate. For now, you all just stay here. Bane and I will go hunt by ourselves."

Hale, who has just caught up from behind, looks somewhat unhappy, as are Vie and Phendrene. They clearly don't want to be left behind on the hunt. As for me, well, I couldn't care less.

I realise I am actually quite tired after the day. While the others are amused when Phendrene lights the fire with her tail, I just go off to the side and rest. Vie tries to get me to go over but when I tell her I'm just tired she leaves me alone.

Cole keeps on talking to them about some random things, and by the looks of it even Phendrene is interested. Well, I'm not. I briefly contemplate trying to sleep but it's not even sunset yet and that would be just pointless. So I join in on whatever they are talking about; it's better than doing nothing.

"I know it sounds stupid," Cole says, "being less conscious of your actions and all. But you really should try it when you grow up. I mean, I thought it was weird at first, but then my friends convinced me to do it and, well, the first time might be weird, but after that…"

I get bored of Cole's ramble and head off anyway. Thinking about random things I've learnt in school would be better than this.

But I also realise I'm quite hungry, so my mind turns to that. Fantasising about biting into flesh might contradict with the fact that I don't like hunting, but that's how I have to survive, anyway.

Vie comes over once after a while and I just tell her that I'm tired. Cole seems to still be talking about that alcohol thing, with Hale asking many eager questions. Seriously, what's up with it? I'm tempted to go over and listen, but decide against it, because I just don't like the feeling of it.

My thoughts keep me occupied until Mum and Bane fly into sight when the sun is touching the horizon, each carrying two Sandshrew. Phendrene seems to notice them when I do – maybe she wasn't paying that much attention to Cole's rambles after all – and shouts an "Ah!" Or at least she does in my mind. I still don't think from her view she's saying anything more than random vocal noises.

Mum puts her piece down as Phendrene runs up to greet her, but then I notice a gash running across Bane's side, although it doesn't seem to be bleeding anymore. He flicks the Sandshrew towards us and mutters some curse under his breath and clutches his wound.

There's a few gasps, and I hear Vie say from behind me, "How did you get that?"

"The Sandslash did it. Probably their mother or something." He flicks his head toward the bodies of the Sandshrew.

"So _that's_ why it's only Sandshrew for tonight. I've had so much of them," Cole complains.

"Well, if you don't like it you can go hunt, yourself," Bane retorts.

Mum silences them and tells them to eat rather than bicker, and they obey somewhat grudgingly. I walk forward to a Sandslash too, next to Vie. But I don't devour the Sandshrew as I did in my fantasies from before. I'm only just reminded by the argument that they have a mother, too.

Not that I didn't know. I always did, but I guess it's just brought out of my subconscious this time. And I start imagining the same scenarios happening to me. What if some omnipotent power descends from the sky and takes away Mum to eat her? I shudder at the thought.

Maybe I'm not going to be able to hunt after all. But living off Vie forever? It's not that bad if you just think of just the definition of the words, but then it becomes absurd when you factor in other things, like the fact I can't be anywhere without her, and I'd just be owing her a lot. Has someone ever lived like that before? The Flygon in Lyrl don't really hunt, I think. Could I stay in Lyrl for the rest of my life?

The sun is down by the time I'm finished eating, which is before everyone else is finished, and I'm feeling tired. These thoughts about hunting are really bothering me. I shouldn't think about things too much.

The next moment I hear a noise and realise I'm in the same position, but it's nighttime. There's a fire next to me. Phendrene curls up against Mum a bit further off, her head under her forelegs, while Vie and Hale are sleeping on top of the messy pile that is Bane and Cole. How funny.

No idea on where noise came from, though. I forgot what it even sounded like. Probably just one of the others snoring or something. It seems like it's the middle of the night, so I try and fall asleep again.

I find lots of shrubs and trees, dimly illuminated. They're greener than ones that are in the desert. Speaking of which, I'm not in the desert. The ground feels different: it's kind of squishy but also has many little soft things. Grass.

Something beckons me forward. I stumble through the undergrowth as it parts to make way for me. I walk a while and I come across a little clearing. There's a hole in the sky where the light comes through and shines on the grass. Further ahead is a small waterfall that falls from a ledge. It forms a stream and flows through the clearing and into me.

My eyes open to the sight of desert.

A dream? I look around. The only one missing is Mum, who's probably off to another hunt. Since I don't have anything else to do, I focus on what happened in my dream.

Well, I don't have too many dreams, and especially not about things I've never seen before. I know there's a forest to the east of the desert somewhere, but I haven't been there so obviously I wouldn't know what it'd look like. I don't remember details of having seen any pictures of it anywhere, either. Maybe my mind conjured it up, but that doesn't make much sense. Unless I've seen it somewhere and have forgotten about it? Nah.

I close my eyes and shake my head to clear it of the thoughts. At least the view was pretty, I think. It doesn't matter how the dream came to be. I really do think too much.

It doesn't seem I have much else to do without waking anyone else up, so I decide to just dig a hole and let it collapse on me. It's still amusing after trying it so many times, as silly as it sounds.

By the time I get back out of the hole I dug myself into, Cole seems to have woken up. He isn't moving though, clearly bothered by Vie who seems precariously balanced on his back.

"Vie!" He calls in a loud whisper. "Get off!"

Vie doesn't respond. Instead Bane groans and mutters something about not getting enough sleep. He gets up and for a moment I expect Hale to come tumbling off him but turns out that already happened during the night.

"Not my fault Vie's _on me_," Cole tells Bane.

If he's trying to make Bane less grumpy he's failing miserably. "Okay, so it's my fault. Whatever. I'm going hunting."

"Get her off first!" Cole shouts, but Bane just flies off. He seems so frustrated that he might just dump Vie on the floor beside him, and for a moment I'm worried he'd do that but then Vie seems to have been woken up by his loud voice and climbs off Cole.

"Why did I let you on in the first place?" Cole grumbles, talking to himself more than anything. "Seriously, get the eff off," he says to Vie, who is still half asleep.

At first I was only watching with a slightly curious, maybe amused feeling. But now he's just being mean to Vie.

"She didn't even grumble when you woke her up like Bane did! Let her go to sleep."

Cole sighs. "Fine, fine, I'm going hunting as well. Have fun with three sleeping bodies." He flies off as well, leaving a somewhat bitter feeling in me.

Vie seems to have fallen asleep again so I just dedicate myself to digging again. Sand is so different from mud. Even though it's solid, it fills in holes in the ground more because it is very small and mud is very thick and sticky. I don't think digging in mud would be as fun as sand. Although I would probably stop digging randomly when I evolve, anyway.

Am I going to stay in the desert when that happens? If I want to get away with not hunting, I'll probably have to, because if I want to go on random adventures to explore forests and stuff, I'm not sure if Vie would just follow me wherever I want to go.

What are random adventures like, anyway? Has Mum gone on any? Maybe I should ask her when she gets back.

I dig my way out of the hole. But then something hot falls in, and after a moment I realise it is Phendrene.

"Sorry!" I apologise in an awkward high-pitched tone. She makes a grumbling noise (which really doesn't fit her voice) and climbs out. I follow her out.

She rubs her face slightly and sits down next to the fire with her legs and tails outstretched opposite directions. She looks up at me with half open eyes but doesn't acknowledge the apology.

I get annoyed because of that and start blurting out words. "Why can't you just talk?"

She widens her eyes for a moment, but then just looks down at the sand sadly.

I suppose I should feel bad for her. And I guess I do, somewhere deep down in my heart. But how long has she known me already? A few months, and she still hasn't uttered a single word to me. No matter how traumatic her past has been, she should be at least able to talk by now. Plus, she's definitely talked to Mum before, but specifically not to me. I know it sounds childish, but that's just really unfair.

She does seem genuinely sad, though, so I don't try and criticise her or anything. And she is younger than me – by how much? I don't even know. Still, I think I'll leave her alone. After all, I was the one who dug under her and woke her up.

I decide to be selfish and wake Vie up, because the sun's already quite high in the sky. And digging will just lead to more of those random thoughts, which I have enough of.

"Vie?"

"Okay, I'm getting up." She sounds surprisingly energetic for someone that was sleeping a few moments ago, which probably means she got enough sleep already.

"Why did you sleep so early last night?" She asks before standing up.

"I was just tired. It's not like I'm exactly used to these long treks. And I don't have the enthusiastic energy to like you three, either, so it's not just our age," I reply. "What were you doing staying up late anyway?"

"We were telling ghost stories! It was really spooky. Halfway through Phendrene got a little scared or something and your Mum took her away, but it was really fun! I even heard Cole squeak at Hale's one about something inside one of the Lyrl buildings. You should have been there, too."

Ghost stories? Sounds quite fun, but I've never been one to believe in supernatural forces. Like, how would they exist? I don't get it. Well, I guess they have the right to have a laugh about it. Maybe that's how they feel about me not wanting to hunt.

"Wait, Vie, do you know anywhere outside of the desert? I just thought, well, staying in the desert for your whole life would be kind of boring. So when we're Flygon, we could have adventures and stuff!"

She seems a bit confused again at how that came out of nowhere, but since that happens quite a lot lately she seems to be developing an immunity to it. "Well, I know the forest that's actually quite near Lyrl called Whitewash or something, and the Zeal mountains that's south of the Shallows, and there's this big plain that has a river in it somewhere, but that's it. Oh, and I think it'd be a great. Problem is, you're gonna have to hunt for yourself if you're not going to do a job or something, and I don't think there are many jobs outside of Lyrl." She shrugs. "Or I could hunt for you. I don't think it'd be that hard when I'm a Flygon."

"Well, I think I'll have to hunt. Otherwise I'll be kind of… a burden. And, well, I don't want to be one."

She bumps my jaw playfully with her head. "Hey, it's okay. We're best friends, right? And we'll help each other." She smiles. "Where did you get this idea, anyway?"

Reassured, I relax and suddenly realise that I've been tense expecting her answer. Do I really want to go out on an adventure that much?

"Well, I had this dream about a forest. I think it was pretty, and just different. Like, "interestingly" different, not "weirdly" different."

"That's cool. My dreams are about my parents or something."

What? Why is she-

"Oh, don't look at me like that. Not really nightmares, not anymore. Just sometimes imagining them coming back, or what happened when I was younger. I have ones about Fire and Sare, too, and they're not all bad."

The names of her other two brothers. Maybe it's not so bad having a small family, after all. You're closer to them, and it's less likely to lose them.

"But really, it's okay," Vie continues. "Your mum's really nice. I mean, she shares meals with us and teaches me to hunt and stuff. She's a lot younger than my mum, but… well, I mean, really, it's fine. Stop worrying about me."

I take a moment to appreciate how Vie tells me to not worry about her. Much better than Phendrene's senseless silence. "Thanks for telling me that, Vie."

"Oh, stop with the formal stuff, seriously." She nuzzles me. "It's nothing."

"If it was nothing then I wouldn't be waking up," Hale grumbles. "Not everyone sleeps as early as you, Nova." He gets up and walks over groggily.

"Well, I stayed just as late as you, and I'm up, so you should be too, you lazy ant," Vie teases.

Hale doesn't seem that cheerful about it. "Where're the adults?"

"They're hunting," I tell him. "My mum was already gone when I woke up, and your brothers left later."

He groans. "Well, this is going to be boring. Phen-drene never talks," he pronounces her name carefully, "and whenever he's here you always talk to him," he tells Vie. It's not hostile, but I still wince.

"It's okay, I need to talk to Phendrene anyway," I tell Hale and Vie. "You two can, um, play-fight or something."

Before Vie responds, I scurry off to Phendrene, who's nibbling on a Sandshrew from yesterday.

She sees me coming, and stares at me, so I decide not to greet her or anything, in case it gets awkward. "I think you should talk to me," I tell her, "but if you really don't want to, you shouldn't." That doesn't sound very formal or convincing or anything, but I just want to tell her what I feel. Or maybe just placate her, I'm not even sure myself what I'm doing. At least she smiles.

But then she leaps on to my face.

I shake my head and she drops off, giggling. I'm about to tell her how my jaws will probably harm her when there's a shadow covering us. I panic for a moment before Mum lands, a Hippopotas in her jaws.

"Wait, don't eat that for now. I think the Sandshrew from yesterday is good enough." She seems a little tired. "We'll have to bring some back to Lyrl, remember, so don't stuff yourselves too much."

How much do adults know? Guessing our thoughts even when just arriving. Maybe she has more experience in reading body language.

Phendrene goes back to the Sandshrew that she was eating. I take the opportunity to ask, "Mum, have you been out of the desert before?"

"What?" She doesn't seem prepared for the question. "Oh, yes, I have. Not too many times though. What about it?" she asks, seeming a bit uneasy.

"Oh, nothing." I'll talk to her later in case it involves Phendrene. After all, Mum told me that she knew Phendrene's mum, and that might have something to do with the uneasiness.

Bane and Cole arrive a while later, and we finish of the Sandshrew from yesterday. On the journey back to Lyrl, Mum holds Phendrene (so I still can't ask her about what she would have said), while I chat with Vie about some other Trapinch from the shallows. Fera's strong but a little mean, Navy's super nice, Veil is too serious to have fun around, and Jay talks so much about scientific facts it even annoys me. Hale, who is talking about something with Bane and Cole seems to be slightly offended when we talk about Fera but Vie doesn't notice it and I pretend I don't either. Eventually I decide to start talking about Zeta because I feel a little uncomfortable about criticising others when they're not there. I wonder if anyone does that to me.

Mum takes the prey somewhere and Bane leads us to the fountain to tell us to get a good drink. Vie jokingly tells me not to drink too fast, in case I get another stomachache. I still do drink quite quickly, though, because I want to find Zeta and ask him how dreams really worked and if my type of dream was common or rare. It turns out he's not at home, or maybe sleeping really deeply (highly unlikely considering it's midday, but he's done it before), so I go back and try and find Vie or Mum.

I start to feel somewhat anxious for seemingly no apparent reason. But as I get back to the fountain, I see what has caused my anxiety. I recognise a scent.

_Dree_.

She is sipping water from the fountain, next to Dice, her reddish shell quite obvious amongst most other Trapinch. It's surprising; I haven't seen her in quite a while now. In fact, I haven't seen her ever since the time Hale pushed her into the water.

It's a good thing Vie, Phendrene, and Hale seemed to have left already, especially Hale, because he'd definitely stir up trouble with Dree. He still hasn't told Vie and me what exactly happened on that day, although I mostly forgot about it until today.

I try and concentrate on what they're saying while staying a good distance from the fountain.

"…more often?" Dice finishes off a question.

"Well, I do kind of want to, but my parents don't really let me. I had to get Epsilon to teach me to dig – you know how he's always half-underground – because otherwise I wouldn't be able to get into this sector. Also, I don't want that Shallows dude to push me into the water again." Dree's accent is still noticeable.

"They're not that bad," Dice says. "I mean, I guess they can be like that, but they're not usually like that. I don't even get why your parents decided to move downtown in the first place. Just because of the Shallows?"

"And, uh, hello? They don't want me to get pushed into more fountains." Dree gives a laugh. "Do you think I'm scared of them? Oh hi, dear Shallows friends, how nice-"

"Shut up!" Dice tells her in a small voice. "Do you go around and yell in a high voice like that when you're home?"

"Just because you get bossed around by Slice doesn't mean I have to. There's not even a rule or anything about speaking loudly. Stop being obsessed with rules!"

"I'm not obsessed with rules! It's just not very polite," Dice responds meekly.

Dree snorts. "Like other Trapinch do? Like the Shallows guy who is eavesdropping on us right now?"

I freeze in my place. Dice seems very confused. After a few seconds I realise Dree is not looking at me, but about someone else. "Guy-who-pushed-me-in-the-water, I know you're there. I can smell you."

Hale walks out behind the building to the left – a location that was right out of my sight – and sighs. "Okay. Now what?"

"What do you mean _now what_?" Dree retorts back. She turns to Dice. "See what I mean?"

"It's not as if you've never done it before," Dice says in a neutral tone, trying to not betray any allegiance to any side.

"Not that. I never said I wanted to follow your rules." Dree turns back to Hale. "So, what did you mean when you said _now what_, mister Shallows guy?"

Hale was standing motionless until she mentioned that phrase. "Don't call me that!"

"What's wrong? Isn't that where you're from, smart boy?"

Hale looks as if he is going to burst. I crawl over quickly. "Hale? What are you doing here?"

I try to act like I didn't hear anything, since I don't want Dree to go all "Eavesdropper!" on me.

"What are you doing here?" Hale asks me.

"Uh, that's what I asked you." I can't exactly ask, "why were you eavesdropping" with Dree looming over.

"Hey, new guy, are you from the Shallows too?" she asks, in a voice that is much less hostile than her words to Hale I almost answer. But then Vie crawls over with a timid Phendrene trailing behind her.

"Leave him alone," Vie hisses to Dree. She turns to Dice. "I thought _she_ wouldn't be here anymore."

Dree turns to Dice too. "What did you say about me to those Shallows Trapinch?"

Dice, who has been trying to avoid attention, looks up meekly. "Well, you did move downtown…"

Dree sighs. "Ugh, you really like them, don't you."

"What's wrong about us?" Vie hisses back.

"I'm… outta here," Dice announces, her voice a mixture of worry and fear, and crawls away quickly.

I start to feel upset about how they're treating Dice. Phendrene seems to have the same idea and tugs on to me. "Stop it!" I try and shout loudly, but Vie shakes her head quickly before turning back to Dree.

"I thought you left," she says in a forced neutral tone.

"Well, it's none of your business when I come and visit my friends," Dree replies, not bothering to hide any animosity.

"Then leave us alone." Vie abandons her forced neutral tone.

"You're the ones who came here!"

I don't feel upset anymore. I just feel resigned, because I know I can't stop this.

Phendrene clutches tighter.

"Do you think we _wanted_ our home to be invaded by the Salamence?"

"Well, it's not our problem! And I'm pretty sure Charmander weren't living with you!"

"What's wrong with Charmander?"

"They're not Trapinch."

Tighter.

"So?"

"Well, would _you_ want to live with Sandshrew?

"Charmander aren't Sandshrew."

Hale steps in between them. "Please stop! I… just stop!"

Dree responds angrily. "Don't tell me what to do." She shoves him out of the way – and into me. Phendrene's clutch is tighter than ever as we fall into the fountain.

A strong claw grasps my foreleg instantly and pulls me out. I ignore the coldness in my hindlegs, because…

"Phendrene!"

Vie releases me and sticks her foreleg into the water and pulls Phendrene out, whose tail flame is diminishing. Her flailing stops and I realise her eyes are wide and staring straight at Vie.

Ignoring Hale's mortified face and Dree's frown, Vie tells me urgently, "Get her to your mum. I'll sort this out." She lifts Phendrene onto my back. The part of Phendrene's arm that has been grasped by Vie is bleeding a little, but I ignore that and rush back towards the clearing.

"Mum!" I shout, ignoring the glances I get from any other Flygon. "Mum!"

She comes over from talking to another Flygon. "Mum, Phendrene fell in the water! Get her help!"

Her eyes widen, and she just freezes.

I shift and drop Phendrene on the ground. "I need to go back to – to make sure no one else falls in. I'll tell you about it later!" I turn around, hoping that Mum doesn't just stand there, and head back towards Vie.

What just happened? I fell into the fountain. Almost. Phendrene fell in completely. She needs to have her tail flame! Will she be okay? Will Vie and Hale be okay? Will Dree leave us alone? Why doesn't she? Maybe it isn't her fault. Maybe it's the Salamence's fault. But she still pushed Phendrene into the fountain.

The voices gradually become louder again. My thoughts turn back to observation. "…not like I was the only one that fell into the water."

"She has a fire on her tail!" Vie shouts indignantly.

Dree snorts again. "So she does. Big deal. Mister "Hale" here pushed me into the water as well. I could've drowned too. You're just defending him because you're his sister, not because of logic or reasoning. Shallow in both mind and body," she finishes with disdain.

Vie frowns at the insult. I don't feel much towards it. Hale, however, who has been quiet the whole time, suddenly explodes.

"Shut up, you bitch!" He lunges at Dree who dodges nimbly out of the way. For a moment, it seems as if she's smiling. Then she runs away, screaming about Hale who is bounding after her.

"Hale, stop!" "Don't fall for her!" Vie and I yell in unison but he doesn't listen and continues chasing. We try and catch up to stop him, but several Flygon has noticed them and are approaching.

Hale stops. He looks around warily, and creeps into a crack into a building that I haven't noticed before. Dree stops, looking afraid. She's a good actor.

She clearly wants him mad, and she succeeded. Now all the adults will do is hear the whole thing from Dree and try and reprimand Hale. They can't bring justice.

Lyrl. They don't like us Shallows Flygon, I realise. Dree's family moved because Hale pushed her into the water, but Dree probably taunted him with some really insulting remark. Probably relating to "Shallow-minded". But seriously, "shallow in body" doesn't even make sense.

To be fair, I didn't get what Hale meant by "bitch" either. But I'll worry about that later. I need to find Hale and calm him down!

I dig into the hole that Hale has just used quickly as adult Flygon are closing in on us. I feel Vie breath on my hindlegs but I hear her yelling, "I'll tell your Mum, find Hale!" before there's a scraping noise and her breath disappears.

Scrambling down the tunnel quickly, I realise that I suddenly feel very scared. Not the type that I'd have when listening to ghost stories, but rather the type where you have consequences that you may face. Vie just got pulled out. And they call us violent!

I stay still silently, expecting to hear more noise at the hole, maybe an older Trapinch trying to get Hale and me out. But the noise outside dies down gradually and there's nothing more but some insignificant chatter.

That dies down too, as I continue through the hole. The walls gradually change from sand into concrete. I guess it's a tunnel rather than a hole. Small size, too, because I can feel the ceiling when I raise my head and it's not much movement sideways before I bump into a side.

Hale's fresh scent is in my nostrils as I emerge into the middle of somewhere. It is completely dark, and I walk very slowly, feeling my way using the wall. I find another hole in the wall, and follow Hale's scent in that one, too.

The next tunnel is a lot longer, and straight in one direction with something that feels a little softer than concrete. I think about why I waited for the noise to die down. Maybe it's because I'm afraid of worse punishment if I didn't let them find me then. In hindsight, that was pretty stupid. I should have just continued on. Otherwise I shouldn't have bothered coming inside in the first place.

The hard floor and narrow sides becomes familiar to me over some time, and I'm startled I when I start stepping in sand and eventually at a wall of it. So the manufactured tunnel ends here? I dig through the sand and upwards. When I see light appearing I slow down. I uncover the sand right in front of my eyes. The sky appears. Which is expected. I hear no one, though. Feeling reassured, I just climb out.

And realise that I'm in the middle of nowhere. Just sand.

I climbed out of Lyrl? What?

Is Hale out here? I sniff carefully. No, he isn't. I didn't take note of his smell. He's still back down there!

I dig back into the tunnel. Just how long was it to leave Lyrl out of sight? Why does it even exist?

No, I can't worry about that for now. I need to find Hale. If we're this far out, then he might get lost into the middle of the desert, too! And I don't think he's good as finding his way underground as me.

I resign to just travelling back a lot more slowly while examining the sides, and I find that there's a narrow gap into somewhere after a while. I crawl in, and I'm in another underground hallway. I can tell because there's a dim light coming from behind what looks like a rectangular board.

I can observe the entrance of these holes more clearly now. They seem to be structured on purpose, unlike when we first crawled in as a crack. I don't think they were designed for Trapinch, so they probably have some other purpose.

Hale's scent has dispersed somewhat and I don't have many leads where he is. I could shout, but… someone might notice, although I feel that I'm far out of Lyrl enough – I mean, I couldn't even see the walls. Still, I should be safe and just check the light out.

The wall seems to be very thin where the light comes from, and I arrive into the room very quickly. I'm startled for a second as the light becomes somewhat brighter as I step in – not just because I'm closer to the source, but it actually gets brighter from detecting my presence. It would be convenient if I weren't stuck in darkness for the past, what, twenty minutes?

Why is there light down here, anyway? Unless… unless this is something important and is being monitored? Maybe Hale turned it on?

I glance around the room warily. It's just an empty room with white walls, although there's this square on the wall that protrudes slightly and has a border. It looks like a screen of some sort.

My vision becomes brighter all of a sudden, and I have to close my eyes for a few seconds. When I open them again I see that there is a square-shaped white light on the ceiling that had just activated.

Did someone see me and turn the lights on? I dismiss that assumption quite quickly because I hear no sound other than the gentle hum of electricity. But then there's a more noticeable sound – it's kind of the same electrical sound, but more musical.

The screen switches on.

I think I activated some kind of power up system. Maybe I logically should try and hide, but given I'm this far out of Lyrl it doesn't seem very likely.

What does surprise me, though, is a bunch of red and blue spheres materialising in front of me.

"Hi!" says a neutral, mechanical voice with a surprising amount of cheerfulness.

I notice that the middle ball is red with a horizontal stripe of blue. There's other blue ones that are more elongated that look like limbs, as well as another detached red sphere at the top with yellow and black circles that look like eyes, with other highly unrealistic more points pointing out, even if the tips are smooth like the rest of the parts.

It looks like something living. Maybe I should respond.

"Uh… hi."

"I see you're a Trapinch. Expected. What's your name?" the voice, which I now realise is belonged to the floating spheres, which I also now realise is living.

"…Nova."

"Don't be so shy! Come on, introduce yourself." The tone of the voice actually sounds organic.

I feel… slightly weird. I mean, it's not exactly a living _organism_, and while Zeta has told me about artificial life forms before, they were mostly devoid of emotion. But this one sounds cheerful…

"Who are you?" is what comes out of my mouth.

"Oh, me? I'm a Porygon-Z, and I overlook the geothermal- wait, you don't understand, do you? Basically, technical stuff. Generating the power, maintaining database, supplying electricity, et cetera. For what you guys call Lyrl."

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm down here?"

The Porygyon-Z spins its head around. "Well, I'm actually quite grateful, because no one's really been here for a long time. I'm locked out of the processes that actually go into the city."

Right. I'm not in Lyrl right now. And this Porygon-Z seems quite interesting. It's not like these underground rooms are endless, and this Porygon-Z might even be able to help me find him.

"Do you have a name?" I ask.

"Well, I have a serial number, but I don't think you'd be interested in that. I'm the only Porygon-Z here, so just call me Porygon-Z." It floats towards the ground and its head goes gingerly close to my face. "How did you get in here anyway? When I say no one has been here for a long time, I mean a _long time_."

I thought it just said that it wasn't going to ask me why I'm down here- well, he asked how, and that's kind of different.

"I just crawled in through a crack…"

Porygon-Z retracts his head and nods. "Only Trapinch can get through them. And judging by how you act, you're not supposed to be here. Tell me what's wrong."

I don't see why not. "Well, one of my friends got into a fight with another Trapinch. He got scared and crawled in, and I'm trying to get him out."

It cocks its head, as if it's amused. "I could try and help with security cameras… except the place is pitch dark, so I can't see. Also, what you see here as my body, can't go too far from this room. So, sorry."

"It's okay, he'll definitely be fine," I assure Porygon-Z. It seems to be quite lonely under the cheerful exterior. "How long has it been since someone last came down, anyway?"

"A few decades. Doesn't matter. If you really want to help me, you could supply me with information! Like, so I can store it. I bet I can supply you with a lot of information as well."

"Okay." An opportunity to learn about things? That's nice. And it does seem very knowledgeable. "How though? Just asking me questions?"

"Err…" Porygon-Z spins its head again. "That would get me information, but I have a faster way, using Technical Machines."

"If it's faster, it's better. Use it, then."

Porygon-Z looks at me like I'm a bit crazy. "Well, you might not like it. I'll basically be reading your mind."

"Huh?" Reading my mind? "So you'll know everything I know?"

"Yeah, basically. I'm not going to laugh or anything, even if I'm programmed with sufficient emotion, because I've seen other lives before and stuff. And of course I'm not going to distribute it anywhere. Plus, when I say I can supply you with a lot of information, I mean _a lot of information_."

"How can you even read my mind? Magic?"

"Well, no." It stops for a second. "It's something more like a psychic technique."

"No, I mean, how is it even possible? Science can't explain it, right?"

"Well, no, we don't really know what makes psychic things happen. There's still patterns to it. Anyway, if you don't mind the actual thing, how the process works doesn't actually matter. Unless you don't want to, just let me."

"Okay." I guess I'm a little suspicious of it, but not to the degree that Porygon-Z seems to think I should be. "Read my mind."

It spins its head again. "Okay," it repeats what I said.

I stare at the Porygon-Z for a few seconds before it announces, "Done."

"I didn't even feel anything!" I tell it. "Did you really just read my mind?"

"Well, yes. Your mother is named Shell and your father is named Blight. Anyway, about the "didn't feel anything" thing, it's just that you're very young. Your mental fortitude gets better… eventually…" It floats around a bit. "Sorry, was processing your information. You can stop calling me "it" now. I know I technically have no gender, but calling me "he" would be fine; "it" sounds weird. Just don't tell any feminists."

"Okay," I make sure to follow his orders. "What was that? Feminists?"

"Oh, that's something to do with Humans, speaking of which, you shouldn't really capitalise the word "Humans" in your mind. Anyway, what do you want to know? Or should I explain some stuff that you don't know that happened in your life?"

Even when noting down not to capitalise "humans", I'm still very intrigued by how fast he scanned my memory. "Sure, but I want to ask something about that mind reading thing – will I ever be able to?"

"Nope, you can't. No Flygon can. Even other normal Pokémon can't do it like this, their mental state would be too unstable. Guess it's a benefit from being a robot connected to a big database."

"Anyway, I guess I'll start with the ant and animal thing. Sound good to you? I'll be rambling for longer than you think."

I nod my head.

"Okay. So, ants are animals. Pokémon are also animals, in general – things like me don't count. Animals are generally defined as very sensitive to stimuli and can rapidly respond compared to the other biological kingdoms like plant or bacteria. Anyway, the point is, ants are not Pokémon. Pokémon are sentient – or sapient, either word is fine – and the ants simply don't have enough space in their body for the brain which can achieve a good level intelligence. Larger ants that do have the space exist, though. Anyway, in contrast to other animals, Pokémon can also all talk to one another, because we're designed that way, somehow. Although it doesn't make much sense evolutionarily to be able to communicate with another species in a human language, so I came to a conclusion: that Pokémon didn't evolve."

I haven't really paid attention to the other meaning of evolve before, but I knew it. "Is that a big deal?"

"Depends on how you view the world. I mean, sometimes you don't really like being told that…"

"Tell me, I won't break down or anything." What's holding him back?

"I'll just say first, that I have no concrete evidence of this, but… I think all the Pokémon are genetically engineered by humans."

"I don't even know what genetically engineered means."

"Basically, they modified your genes artificially to make you what you are now. It's not natural."

"Okay." It's quite weird- no, it's actually very weird, the notion that humans created our entire species, and almost all others. "It doesn't seem all that plausible."

Porygon-Z eyes me carefully, as if he was expecting me to really break down. Seriously, I might not like it a lot with regards to how humans have so much power over us, but it's not _that_ big of a deal. …Or is it? "I know it's not very believable. But I have a ton of evidence here working for me."

He stops to let me speak, but when I don't, he continues. "For instance… take Phendrene. I mean, the whole Charizard species. The only reason I can think of to have a tail fire is to attract mates. But they could just roar and the flames produced would be enough for any potential mates to appear. It would be much more efficient like that, or even simply patterns on the body. So the only reason that they'd have a tail fire is if humans tampered with it somehow. Maybe to create a myth about how they die if the fire goes out."

Humans tampered with Phendrene? "That doesn't sound too likely, though."

"Well, there's more. Other physiological things that aren't natural also exist, like the fact that the dragons are more warm blooded despite being repitilian, because it is in fact necessary for things like flight which is really cold without feathers, or the fact that there's no tail to help balance you even though you're a quadruped, which is probably attributed to the fact that your species were designed off antlions or something like that. You're also omnivores because you need to be able to eat berries."

"Berries?" I wonder out loud. "We don't need to eat them to survive, do we? I don't really eat them."

"Well… you were fed them when you were with trainers. Wait, you don't know about trainers either, do you?"

I shake my head.

"Well, when Pokémon first appeared, there was an organisation known as the Pokémon League. Humans could catch Pokémon with high-tech devices with Poké Balls, which made them restless and want to fight – and compete with others. They were known as Trainers."

I'm tempted to say "How do I know you're telling the truth?" but I hold it back. He has no reason to lie to me. So what he's saying about how humans made us… it's true.

"Okay. I think I get it now. But… are you sure about the thing where you said that Pokémon were made by humans?"

"Even though I don't have any complete correct evidence, everything points towards it. You know, there's more than just your body; there's also your behaviour, too, because your brain is based off humans. Like, how you are monogamous, which means picking a single mate and sticking with them. That doesn't really happen in non-Pokémon animals, I think. Or, like, you know how you care about prey? A lot? If you really were like that, it would be evolutionarily detrimental, as the ones who don't have a problem with hunting would have a higher chance of survival."

The more I think about it, the more I feel… different. Things I take for granted, like the temperature of the blood flowing through my body, or how I feel towards some dead Sandshrew, really do show that I'm made by human hands. It… just doesn't feel right.

Once upon a time I would have denied it and just relished in the notion that we were majestic creatures blessed by Arceus to come upon this world, wielding fantastic powers that could shape the earth to our desires.

But now, I'm not that Trapinch anymore. I'll have to accept it. Hiding from the truth is useless.

"Who programmed you anyway?" I ask, trying to change the topic. "Some Flygon genius?"

"Hell no. Flygon aren't that technologically advanced yet. It was the humans from centuries ago. You don't know about the ancient history of Evitern, do you? Never mind, that was a stupid question, I know you don't. Do you want to know, though? It's more detached to you compared to, well, genetically engineering."

"Sure." I can tell my voice has changed slightly from earlier. It's more solemn. Really, is it that big of a deal if my species made by humans or not? It's not like I don't have a biological mother and father that made me naturally.

Porygon-Z doesn't acknowledge the change, probably because he knew it was going to happen. "Okay, more rambling coming up. Let's start with the name. Why this place is called Evitern. Evitern is derived word, from "Eviternity", which basically means eternity but more archaic. At least, that's what I think the name comes from. It was used to mark the end of the civil war, probably an attempt to symbolise an eternal peace. It was about... the thing I just told you. The fact that humans created Pokémon wasn't liked by plenty of humans themselves, either."

It doesn't sound that interesting. Or rather, it does, but my mind isn't really in a learning mood right now. I force myself to listen anyway, even if I don't want to; after all, isn't this what I gave in my memories for?

"At first, the organisation that made Pokémon – which I have no idea if it was governmental or anything – introduced them really tactically. I don't really know how, maybe claiming it was radiation mutation or something with their highly regarded reputation, but it was so that general population didn't know about it. For that, it was over a long period of time. The Pokémon were then spread across the world, after it became the norm in the organisation's country.

"Then another country, a more powerful one, decided to copy the first. Again, I'm not exactly sure about the details; historical sources say that they "appeared" there, but I'm pretty sure that the country also engineered the Pokémon. The people here – separate from both of those countries – seemed to think the same thing when the first batch of Pokémon was sent over, and then there was large unrest, and eventually something happened between the government and the protestors.

"The war expanded into a global issue quickly, and I think most people in the world became discontent about it, too, and then… I don't know what happened afterwards. The war, at least in this country, came to an abrupt end, with humans disappearing. Which is when it was renamed Evitern by the Pokémon, and was the time your calendar started."

This really does seem more important than the fact that we're "genetically engineered". By a mile. Then why do I feel detached about this subject, as if I don't really care? I'm not affected _that _much by the knowledge of Pokémon's origin… am I?

At least I'm learning information that I don't think anyone on the surface knows. But it's been a while, maybe I should start trying to find Hale again soon… Vie pops into my mind and I feel some guilt. _I'll go find him after a few more things with Porygon-Z!_ I promise to her image.

"Why is so much information unclear? Like… the name of the organisation or countries. Or even just the locations of the countries. Or what happened after the war."

"I can tell you about the geography of our location – we're in the southern hemisphere of the earth, and surrounded by sea – a huge island. As for why I don't have clear info on this stuff, it's because I don't have any data on it to draw from. There probably was censorship going on in this country. What I do know is that it was mainly a Pokémon in the form of ice cream that first created the unrest. I don't think there are any more left, either, after all, it's been one hundred and fifty years, and I think ice cream melt if they're not in freezers." He chuckles.

"Humans are really funny. To be fair, I don't see _why_ the humans would bother engineering us – it'd seem to take a lot less effort to put us on a video game or something. But no, they just had to do it.

"Oh, and I still have in my database about some questions you were thinking about."

This sounds more related to my life. I try and pay more attention to it. "Okay. I want to know."

"Like, why you didn't feel thirsty and drank too much at the fountain? I think it's just that your stomach is too small for your general water requirement when you don't drink for a while. Also, just to clarify about the definition of species, even though Flygon were designed to breed with bugs, they ended up being compatible with dragons instead, which is how-"

I realise something. "Hydreigon! Mum told me not to tell anyone about Phendrene being a half-blood… Well, I didn't exactly tell you but… You won't tell, anyone, right?"

"I couldn't if I wanted to. Anyway, by species' definition you shouldn't be able to create fertile half-bloods, but I think they are fertile. Still, the offspring is always one species. Okay, enough about that; you just made me remember something. Why do you say Hydreigon? Is it an exclamation?"

"…Yeah, it is. Mum uses it sometimes. I do too." Hasn't he read my mind already, though? Shouldn't he know? Maybe he's not used to it.

"Were the Hydreigon that bad? Revered as if they were a god?"

"I… guess? I wasn't alive back then."

"Sorry for asking more questions when I already have your mind, it's just I'm really… not used to using it as an exclamation. And you don't use it much in your memories, anyway. I mean, your society is so similar yet so different from humans'! Like, you have curses based on a revered entity! Or how a name for males in humans, Jay, is used for a female Trapinch. Well, maybe part of that comes from your human psychology, but also because of Lyrl, I guess? Even if it was just a geothermal plant in the rural areas, it still had plenty of human stuff in it. Like the bug. Anyway, even though it is interesting, it is also kind of stupid. I mean, all the adults in your society try and emulate the humans' specifically rather than do the things that are simply convenient. Like "oxytocin"! It's a mammalian hormone! Although I guess you're part mammllian because you exhibit human behaviour… But stuff like tests! Why would Trapinch do tests like that? They don't even have fingers. And the strict boundaries for when evolution occurs, it's not like that. It's different for everyone – no need to be so specific about it. You can even stop evolving if you don't want to. And how you use "dragons" instead of just "people" when you're fine with using "child" over "hatchling"; it just doesn't make much sense. And "dragons" also excludes other Pokémon, as if they aren't worthy of anything! Okay, rant over."

Well, that extended the time even further. I need to learn to interrupt other dragons- no, _people_. Porygon-Z is _not_ a dragon. "Thanks a lot, Porygon-Z, I think… I need to find Hale now."

"…Okay." His tone suddenly becomes a lot softer. "Can you come back before you evolve, though? It's been really nice talking to you… I wish I didn't have a responsibility here…"

What? Is he really that sad about this behind the cheerful exterior? "I'll… I'll try to. The adults might block off the place though… What stops you from leaving?"

"What you see is basically just a hologram. I only exist in the database as a program."

"Why don't you try using something that's portable on its own, then? I mean… then you could leave."

"That could work, but… there aren't exactly mini rocket packs down here. And then I wouldn't be sure if Lyrl's power systems would work anymore…"

The empathy he displays actually shocks me. "Who cares about power? They can live just fine. It's not like they're the ones stuck down here for decades with absolutely no one else for company."

It's the humans' fault. Making him feel emotion… but confining him for an eternity of loneliness down here.

Porygon-Z shakes his head. "No, I have to. You better find your friend now." His voice becomes stronger again. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Your friend's more important. Lyrl hasn't been treating him well."

"Okay. …Goodbye, Porygon-Z." One more glance at the spheres – no, a _person_ – and I crawl back out of the room. From the corner of my eyes, I notice the lights shut off gradually. The musical sound is played again.

Was I really that attached to him? All we did was tell each other about things. It wasn't for that long, either, even if it was a lot of information. But he seemed really friendly… maybe that's because he knew my life back to front? Also… the information isn't just random knowledge, either. It's about how our species exist.

I'll bring Zeta with me down here next time.

But that's for when I get back up. I have to find Hale.

Not much I can do without shouting, even if I can smell him a bit. So, here we go. "Hale, it's me, Nova! Not any adults!" I yell.

"…Nova?"

"Yes! You're there!" I shout joyfully. A moment later I realise that I don't know where he is. "…Wait, where are you?"

"Why are you here?" His voice seems frightened.

"There's nothing to be worried about. Everything's fine," I console him.

"Why are you here?" he repeats.

I hope he doesn't stay like this. It's not the Hale I'm used to. "Vie wanted me to find you. Can you tell me where you are now?"

"I'm in the tunnel."

I crawl back into it, and indeed, his scent is a lot stronger. Since it's dark, though, I can't see anything, and my head bumps into the wall.

"Ouch."

Hale laughs. "Well, what are you going to do now?" His voice seems better, at least.

"Let's go back," I tell him.

"Why would I? I hate Lyrl."

Hale is being funny as usual. "Seriously, I know you're not going to just go out into the wild."

"I am serious. I can hunt… and… I won't have to deal with other dragons being mean anymore."

_People_. Wait, now's not the time to correct him on terminology. "But Hale, what will you do when you're a Vibrava? You're going to be a very easy target for Gliscor and stuff." I still don't think he's serious, but if I just say that I don't think the situation would be going anywhere.

"I'll have time to get to a place where it's safer! Like… like the forest, I know there's Sceptile there, maybe they'll help me…"

"Stop, Hale. You and I both know that it's a horrible idea. Come on, I'm hungry, and I bet you are too."

"You don't know how _I_ feel!" His voice rises suddenly. "You're smart, and you don't like hunting, so you like Lyrl!" I actually don't, but he continues before I get to speak (I really need to learn how to interrupt). "And… and… you're already, like, _betrothed_ with Vie! You don't need to deal with… anyone else…" His voice quiets down.

My argument against Lyrl thrown to the back of my head, I ponder on his words. I don't need to deal with anyone else in the romantic way. But he does.

Oh. That's… so trivial.

"Uh, Hale? I promise I'll help you sort this out when we get back… and I know I don't know your feelings, but even if you aren't hungry you should go back now. They're going to start getting worried, even if Vie saw us get down here."

"Yeah, they would be worried if I just disappeared. But you're here. You could tell them, so they won't be worried." Hale starts to sound more excited.

Whatever words I've said, he's rejecting them from his own little reality. "Hale, stop joking around. You-"

"I'm not joking around!" he says back in a bright tone. "I'm going to dig my way out of… Lyrl…" His voice changes again, into one of annoyance. "Ugh, but Lyrl has those underground walls…"

"You won't need to go through, we're not-" inside Lyrl right now, but _why am I telling him this, am I insane?_

"What? What did you just say?"

"Nothing." Why didn't I shut my mouth about this? Like I can do with Phendrene's heritage? Do I really have to be told seriously by Mum?

"Well, I'm not as smart as you, but I'm not stupid, you know. And it wouldn't hurt to try digging to the surface from here…"

He understood.

Why am I so dumb?

"Let me through. I know there's sand at that end."

I snap out of my thoughts and realise that I'm standing in his way to where he can get out into the open desert. Well, that's good; I can fix my mistake. "No, Hale, you aren't going anywhere. You just need to calm down." My voice is suddenly more determined. I don't even know why.

He bumps his head against mine somewhat roughly, but I've prepared for it. "_Let. Me. Through._" His voice is more aggressive now. And more determined, just like me.

"Vie asked me to bring you back. I'm not going to fail her," I tell him firmly.

"You sure?" he taunts mockingly.

"Yes. And you-"

He doesn't wait for me to stop before he retracts his head and bashes it against mine. I stumble back slightly at his force, although it doesn't hurt. Trapinch are built to endure.

I should be scared; I was never good at anything physical, let alone fighting. But no, I'm not. Maybe it's adrenaline. Maybe it's the fact that I made the mistake of talking about it. Or maybe it's because I can't see anything, and I'm oblivious to any danger.

It doesn't matter.

"Even if you knock me out, you still won't be able to get pass," I challenge. The tunnel is narrow enough.

He grunts in frustration as he tries to knock me back again. I hold my ground.

"Oh, so you think you're so smug, don't you?" Hale sneers. "Well, I'll give you an incentive. If you let me go, I won't tell anyone that Phendrene's a half-blood."

No.

No, no, _no!_

"Now let me go."

… … …

"You're taking too long. Do you really want me to tell everyone about it? Think of all the problems it would cause…"

Why am even trying to help him? Oh, right, because Vie asked me to. Not because I care about him or anything.

I move into the crack heading to Porygon-Z.

"Good. Don't try and follow me. You know that you can't stop me."

I'm not even going to try. It's better if he leaves. Phendrene will be safer.

Will he actually leave forever, though? I doubt it. He'll eventually come back, because he can't hunt well enough to provide for himself. Even if he can, when he evolves, he's going to choose either to die or come back. So he'll come back.

But I did let him go, and that's what he asked for. So he won't tell anyone about Phendrene. He _can't_.

…

Why do I talk so honestly? Why did I even mention that we're not in Lyrl? Maybe because I'm blunt? I don't think I am. If I were, I'd at least be able to interrupt other people.

Hiding from the truth… maybe that's not such a bad idea after all. But only to other people. Not to myself.

So, what has happened? I've learnt that Pokémon are really just playthings of humans. I've also learnt that Hale probably heard what I said with Porygon-Z. Oh, and Hale really hates Lyrl and blackmailed me to get out of the place. He also knows that Phendrene is a half-blood.

And I'm also very hungry. I should get moving. It's quite a long way, this tunnel.

My steps sound softly as I think of what will happen when I get back. How do I face Vie? That's actually not hard. "I found him, but he went crazy and didn't want to stay in Lyrl so he ran off." No need to mention all the details. But Mum? Maybe if I didn't bring it up… But she's my mum. I can't lie to her. Or can I? Actually, I probably shouldn't, unless I want to tell her everything about Porygon-Z, and I don't want to burden anyone else with the knowledge that Pokémon are just… Oh, and the history of Evitern, but I think Silex and the other dragons might already know. Wait, not dragons, _people_. People, people, people. It's a better word to use. Doesn't exclude everything that's not a dragon. Even though I thought it just meant humans. I always used to capitalise their name, although apparently shouldn't. Why, though? Because they're not Pokémon? Now that I think of it, animals, like ants – their name isn't capitalised, either, so it does make sense. Well, I trust Porygon-Z, anyway. He's the smartest. I should come down here again as soon as I sort this mess with Hale out. No, why should I sort it out? I hate him. Stupid, unreasonable, Hale. I bet Phendrene could scorch you to pieces if she were here. Ugh, whatever. I'm really hungry now. I need to crawl faster.

It doesn't seem that long before I'm standing back on the sand, surrounded by buildings. The only difference is that it's night and quiet. Whatever happened in the daytime, it seems to be over. For now. I have a feeling that Vie might try and kill Dree if she hears what has happened to Hale.

I should probably get some sleep before I go tell Vie about this. And after that I'll go find Zeta and forget all about Hale. Seems like a good idea.

But I didn't expect Mum to be awake when I got back. At least Phendrene seems fine now, her tail flame a little piece of brightness in the dark.

"Nova!" Mum forces her voice down so she doesn't wake anyone else. "Don't take that long trying to find someone again. It's… worrying, okay?"

I guess Vie told Mum about it. "Okay. …Sorry, Mum."

"It's all right, just keep track of the time if something like this happens again. Did you find him?"

"Yes, but… it's a long story." Don't talk about it. "I'm hungry."

"Oh, right! Sorry, there's no more fresh kill – Phendrene ate it all. You can try some Dried Numel, though."

"Nah, I think I'll wait until tomorrow. I'm tired, too. Thanks."

She nods. "Well… good night, Nova."

"Night, Mum."

I shuffle over to Phendrene and close my eyes. Her warmth is nice.

In hindsight, I probably should have been more worried about her falling into the water – she has a fire on her tail, after all. But she's fine now, isn't she? That's what actually matters.

She does seem very cheerful when she wakes me up the next day by poking me (again). I don't feel that well rested – well, I did sleep late last night. That doesn't matter. Mum has hunted some more Sandshrew, and I'm famished.

She's not here, either; the only other thing I'm aware of as I gulp down the meat is Phendrene looking at me. Does she know how half-bloods are in danger? She can't; she's so young.

"Phendrene? Do you want to come with me to find Vie?" I ask her. She walks up to me, which I take as a yes.

Vie's not too hard to find – she's at the fountain talking to Dice. I think of the confrontation yesterday, but they seem to be on completely friendly terms.

"Oh, Nova!" Vie calls upon noticing me. "I wanted to wake you up early but Phendrene didn't let me. So, uh, what happened to Hale?"

"Um…" I wasn't exactly serious when I thought I could say to her "Oh he went crazy and ran off." It doesn't seem very… nice. Or sane, for that matter.

"Well… I found him. But he was really upset and didn't want to come back. So, he, uh, tried to dig out of Lyrl. I think he'll come back after he calms down."

"Ugh, that crazy idiot. Well, thanks for trying, Nova." Her sincerity makes me kind of guilty for not telling her everything, but if I did that I'd have to tell her about Phendrene. And I'm not going to make that mistake again.

Dice, who has been staying quiet, says in a little voice, "By the way, uh, sorry about Dree. She can get quite… unpleasant."

"Yeah, forget about that," Vie cuts back in. "Anyway, Dice, what did Slice do?"

Dice sighs. "He told Mum that…"

I leave once it's evident that they're back to their own conversation. Well, I did interrupt them in the first place.

"Hey, Phendrene, do you want to visit my friend? Or do you want to go back?" I ask her.

She points her finger forward which I assume is to stay with me. I still don't like how she doesn't talk but by now I know better than to comment on it.

I find Zeta outside this time, talking to another Trapinch who only has his head above the sand. Seems like everyone is getting along just fine without me.

"Let's wait," I tell Phendrene. "I don't want to interrupt another conversation again."

She nods and sits down beside me.

For a while there's just the sun shining down and Phendrene beside me, but it gets boring fast. So I decide to talk to Phendrene about not talking.

"You know, Phendrene, you don't have to talk if you don't want to. But… I'd be really happy if you did." I try and smile at her.

She looks at me, in her eyes something that could be considered regret. She opens her mouth – but then she shakes her head and closes it and buries her head in my side.

"S-sorry. I didn't mean-"

She extends one of her arms to cover my mouth (not like it physically can, but I stop talking anyway), and wriggles into my side a few more times. It tickles.

The good news is that Zeta has finished talking to the other Trapinch, and is crawling over. "Hey, Nova!" he calls.

Phendrene jumps back from my side and sits down on the sand normally. Well, I guess it is quite embarrassing.

"Hey. I found something last night. In the underground, there was this robot that knew a lot of stuff! And he also was really emotional. We should go down sometime." Or should we? I don't want him to be burdened by the fact that we didn't evolve naturally. But he doesn't seem to be the type that'd get bothered by this type of thing at all.

"Really? Okay, sometime. Not today though, I have to do homework." His gaze goes to my side. "Are you Phendrene?"

Phendrene perks up at her name and nods slowly.

"Nice to meet you!"

He expects a response but Phendrene just blinks.

When it because obvious that she's not going to respond, I cover for her. Or maybe just myself. "Uh, sorry, she's really shy." Maybe bringing her wasn't such a good idea. "Um, I'll talk to you later. Sorry. Phendrene, let's go."

Zeta is a little confused but says "Bye" before he crawls back into his room. Phendrene doesn't really react except for following me.

That was so awkward I actually feel a little nauseous. I can't exactly go around telling everyone Phendrene has a phobia with speaking because of how her mother was killed, can I? And Phendrene just sat there, not acknowledging Zeta at all. I've seen her talking to other Trapinch before!

Wait.

I haven't really thought about it, but I remember her talking to another Trapinch who I don't know. If she can talk to other Trapinch, why not me?

I contain my indignation at her within myself. It wouldn't do any good trying to make her, anyway. Even if she's making absolutely no sense with her behaviour.

Or rather, maybe I'm just tired and moody from my lack of sleep. That's Phendrene's fault too, for waking me up. Whatever. Stop thinking about her. I'll just go get some more sleep.

Phendrene plays with sand for a bit and disappears to somewhere, maybe the Trapinch she has talked to before. I just feel tired and close my eyes.

"Nova?" I hear Vie's voice after a while. She sounds worried. "Where exactly is Hale? Is he underground or did he actually get out of Lyrl?"

"He..." I can't flat out lie to her. "He actually got out."

"Oh… sorry, keep on sleeping." She hurries away. Well, she might be worried about him, but I'm not.

The next time I wake up it is already evening. Mum's the only one there, and she is flipping through a book or something.

Well, it's not like I have anything else to do anyway. "Mum? What's that?"

"Huh? Oh, you're awake. This is a book – don't worry about it. I was waiting for you to finish catching up on your sleep." She tosses the book aside into our pile of belongings. "I need to talk to you."

Her voice sounds more serious than usual. It could even be described as grave. "Uh, Mum? Is everything okay?"

"Don't worry, it's not like someone died or anything. It's about, well, Hale."

Oh. I don't care, I hate him. But I can't tell her that, of course. I guess Mum would understand if I told her the circumstances behind it… but I don't want to tell her that, either.

"Okay. What about him?" I try and sound somewhat serious as well.

"Well, Bane kind of expected him back by now. They're going to try and find him, obviously. Do you have any idea where he might have went?"

So everyone already knows about everything? Sleeping makes you so oblivious to events.

"Well, he said he would head towards the forest, I think."

Mum nods. "Okay. You know, there's also something else; we're going to go and find him too."

"Us? Why us?"

"Well… Phendrene… she got an eviction notice after yesterday's events. And we're definitely not just going to let her go out on her own again."

"Wait, Mum, does that mean…?"

"Yes, Nova. We're leaving Lyrl for good."


	7. Chapter 7

They seem to expect me to be happy from leaving Lyrl. Well, I'll give them _some_ credit for this: it's true I don't like Lyrl. But… I'm leaving so much behind. Zeta, Porygon-Z, and everyone from the Shallows… I didn't even get to say goodbye. And after Vie finds Hale, she's going to go back too. So it will eventually just be us three. Mum, Phendrene, and me.

I never wanted an adventure like _this_.

And it's even worse that all I try to do now is to mount the blame on someone. I mean, I know logically that it's not Phendrene's fault for falling into the water and getting kicked out, but… she doesn't even talk to me, why should my life change just for her? I mean, yes, of course we're not going to just let her go out into the desert by herself, but…

I really don't know what to make of all these feelings. I've tried to console myself that I'm finally on the adventure that I've wanted to go on… but it wasn't going to be like this. I would be a Flygon that could fly so much faster than any Trapinch's speed and visit places I would want to so much more freely.

Which is also why I don't get why the adults just go try and find Hale themselves. They don't even have a clear lead on where he is – he only told me the possibility of going to the forest, but they're taking it so seriously. Well, I guess it is something that you have to take seriously when your younger brother whom you are guardian for runs off into the unknown wild.

At least I still have my little bag of random objects, like the black stone, one of Zeta's book, or the void cube. They were all but forgotten during my time at Lyrl, but now they're the only things I have left of the places I've been to in the past.

Speaking of which, Mum says after Hale is found (or not), we're going to go to the Charizard's place, wherever that is. She explained it as good experience for me to see the world, but obviously it's for mainly for Phendrene. Probably to find her dad.

Is she my mother or hers?

I don't feel the need to speak at all. There's not much to say, because if I tell them about why I'm unhappy I'd also have to tell them everything about Porygon-Z and Hale, and there's no way in hell I'm doing that.

Cole has gotten away with staying behind in case Hale goes back to Lyrl by himself, in which case he'll contact us and tell us to stop searching. Bane and Mum keep on chattering about Lyrl is compared to the Shallows. Vie, just like last time, tries to strike up some conversation but I don't even bother responding verbally this time and just nod and shake my head, so she stops eventually. Phendrene is still staying silent and thinking about whatever she thinks about all the time she stays silent.

After just one day of travelling I become sick of just thinking things to myself. So I ask Mum why she brought us on this trip or why she doesn't just let us ride on her back. She doesn't really give a satisfactory answer and says something about how Cole isn't proficient enough at hunting to hunt for two Trapinch as well as himself and that we're starting to get too heavy to carry safely.

Why can't she answer questions properly like Porygon-Z does?

I start talking to Vie again when we settle down for the night. I guess it was originally a silent protest, but it doesn't really accomplish anything other than make me really, really bored.

"So, can you tell me the specifics of what happened down there with Hale?"

"I found him when I was wandering around, and he wanted to leave. I tried to stop him but he decided to ignore me and get out of Lyrl anyway." I gather my words more easily after days of silence.

"Okay. I just really hope we can find him."

"Yeah, me too." Not. I don't like lying, change the topic. "So, are you still planning to get revenge on the Salamence?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. Still not too sure about how, though."

"Revenge? What revenge?" Bane asks from lying next to the fire.

"Didn't I tell you this?" Vie says to her older brother. "I was talking about it three days ago with Hale."

"You're actually serious?" Bane responds incredulously. "Vie… revenge is not a good thing. I'm not going to ever stop hating the Salamence for killing our parents and brothers, but if you go for them, you'll be just like them."

"Also," Mum chimes in, "it's not all the Salamence that are bad. Just the ones that decide to attack us."

Vie doesn't seem too happy about the opposition displayed by the two adults. "Well, do you want other Flygon to die like our family did? I say bringing them down is the better choice." She snorts.

"Just don't do anything rash, okay? Trust me. At the very least, you have to wait until you've evolved into a Flygon to stand a chance against them," Bane tells Vie. "But anyway, it's time to hunt. And search for a sign of Hale, I guess…" He shrugs and flies off.

"Phendrene, coming?" Mum asks. Phendrene nods and climbs onto her back. "Just stay safe around here," Mum says before flying off as well.

"Uh, Nova, can I talk to you?" Vie says edgily after they leave.

"Uh, sure?" What's she up to again?

"You… you're going to leave Lyrl forever, right?"

The implications have not dawned on me until now. After we leave, we won't see each other until… until who knows? Maybe never.

"…Yeah. I am," I tell her.

"Then I'm going to come with you."

What? "Vie, you don't need to do this."

"I know I don't, but I want to anyway. If we find Hale, I'm not going back – because I don't think Hale would, either. If we don't find Hale… well, there's not much left for me back at Lyrl anyway. I mean, I don't like it either, even if my brothers are there – but you're closer to me than they are."

"Vie…"

I can't even describe how much happier I am now that she's coming. At least I'll still have a friend that I can talk to and confide in no matter what happens.

"Thank you."

"It's fine, really, okay that's enough, stop nuzzling me. I still have to ask you one more thing… what _exactly_ happened down there with Hale?"

Even that doesn't dampen my happiness by a lot. "Um… he was just really moody and didn't really listen to me. That's about it."

"Oh. Okay." She doesn't seem to suspect anything. "Want a game of pebble dodge?"

"'Kay." We're both getting a little restless. "I have a pebble in my bag."

We fling it at each other for some time while chatting about random stuff; it doesn't hurt as much anymore – maybe our shells are thicker?

It's not too long before we tire out. "They're so slow, I'm starving!" Vie complains lightheartedly. I nod in agreement.

I haven't been playing or talking with Vie a lot recently. I've visited Zeta more, while she seems to have spent more time with Dice. But now we're together again without anything else to stop us from being best friends…

Or do we? The knowledge that Porygon-Z gave me still floats around in my mind. Should I tell Vie about it? Maybe I shouldn't. We've finally found some semblance of freedom again, and I don't want to ruin it.

What is wrong with telling the truth, though? Then again, I'm not telling her the truth about Hale, am I? But that's different, that would hurt Phendrene. But about our creation… that's something like a basic right that we should know about.

"Vie… when I was trying to find-"

I stop at the look of horror on her face at something behind me.

"Dig! Now!" she whispers and disappears underground. I follow quickly.

I find her underground. "What's going on? What did you see?"

I can feel her trembling. "I s-saw… a Salamence. I-It was f-flying towards us."

A pit of fear opens in my heart, but I sew it together quickly. "It's okay, it can't get us down here," I comfort her.

Right after I say those words I feel the earth tremble. The Salamence has landed.

We both agree to stay silent. In silence.

I feel Vie next to me, her breathing fast. Minutes pass with more vibrations on the earth. Each second is like a living torture with the fear of being uncovered by the Salamence. Why is it even here, anyway? What business does it have in the desert?

_Please don't come back_, I pray for the others. Hopefully the Salamence will just look at the campfire a bit and leave us. Forever.

My hopes are dashed by hearing a shout of alarm from my mother. I climb out, with Vie giving an alarming jerk as I surface.

"Go away," I hear Mum hiss at the Salamence.

Mum is standing across the fire, her eyes locked onto the Salamence, whose skin a deadly shade of blue. A dead Hippopotas is dropped at her feet, under her bloody maw. Phendrene is clutching Mum's legs tightly. Vie has not climbed back up.

Maybe. Maybe the Salamence isn't looking for a fight! Maybe it will just go away! After all, it hasn't attacked Mum on sight!

The Salamence starts talking. I register its voice as male. "I'm on a mission," he says, giving the impression that he has authority. "You don't want to mess with me."

"Get on with your mission, then. Leave us alone and we'll leave you alone," Mum returns at him, her teeth still bared.

"You don't even know what my mission's about. I'll leave after-" He stops and yowls in pain, shaking his left foreleg which now has blood gushing from it because Vie has just clamped her jaw over it.

"No!" I can't… Vie, why did you do that? We… we could have got out of this unharmed… Revenge isn't the option…

"Dirty little-" The Salamence breathes a flame on Vie for a few seconds. Her eyes widen as her grip slackens and she drops to the floor. The Salamence knocks Vie's head hard with his good foreleg while Mum whispers something at Phendrene which makes her run towards me. Then Mum charges towards the Salamence and rams into him, sending him skidding backwards.

"Vie!"

I rush over to her. Her eyes are closed but I can still hear her breathing. She's unconscious.

_Why did you do it?_

"Nova, try and get Phendrene underground!" Mum yells from the side where battling noises are coming from.

I go back to Phendrene, who is standing there in terror. I dig a hole in the ground and yell at her, "Come in!" she registers it and climbs in with her arms around her face. "Stay down here." I dig back up and find Vie's unconscious body and try and cover it up as well.

_I'm_ completely fine though. I can help Mum.

But then I raise my head and realise that I can't. They're in the air now. I can't register anything specific, but there's growling, occasional blasts of fire, and blood dripping.

I stare at the mess of Flygon and Salamence fighting. Mum's in there. She's getting hurt by a Salamence. I can't do anything to help her. I can't do anything to help Vie wake up. I can't do anything to help Phendrene stay calm. I can't do anything as Mum falls from the sky and crashes into the sand, her body covered in bloody wounds.

I rush over to her. She's lying sideways, her bottom arm at a grotesque angle, but still breathing… I don't have time to inspect her further as I hear the Salamence land to the side. He's panting heavily with an equal amount of blood all over him.

"You started this," he says hatefully, "You were the ones that attacked me. Don't expect me to feel sorry for you." And he advances on Mum and me with a limp.

Maybe he's right. Maybe he really would have left us alone if Vie didn't attack him. …That doesn't matter right now. He's going to try and kill Mum. I can't let him. But I can't just go ahead and bite him. Vie's better than me and she still failed. I have to rely on myself now. Think of something fast…

My bag catches my eye. The contents are spilled on the ground, probably because the Salamence went through it. The sunshine reflects off the pointed black rock and glitters. And I know what to do.

I go over and pick the rock up in my jaws. I have one chance. I can do it.

The Salamence stops as if he is curious about what I am doing.

I move my head sideways and then back in a quick, jarring motion, while releasing my jaw's grip on the rock. It flies towards the Salamence and pierces his neck with a spurt of blood as he gives a bloodcurdling scream. His legs give out and he falls to the ground, his head lolled sideways with the black rock embedded in his neck.

I just killed someone.

No, I have more important things to think about! Mum's injured! I turn to her. "Mum! Talk to me!"

"N-Nova…?" I hear her hoarse voice. "You…" She coughs up blood, painting her body with even more red.

"Mum! Don't talk!" I crawl up to her side and rub my face against her. I don't care if there's blood. "You're going to be okay… I know you are…"

Wings sound behind me. I jump at the noise, but as I turn around I see Bane.

_Where were you when we needed you?_

He drops the Sandshrew he is carrying as his jaws open in shock. "W-What happened? Shell?" he asks incredulously. "Why is there a Sala-"

"Shut up! Go back to Lyrl to find a doctor already!" I yell at him. He takes a few seconds to regain his composure, nods frantically, and flies off.

I don't even know how long it would take for him to fly to Lyrl. But what else is there that I can ask him to do?

I take a careful look at Mum. Every single breath she takes looks painful. There are scratch marks all over her, some big, some small. But there is a wound far bigger than any scratch mark on her chest…

The blood is still wet. It doesn't look like it will dry any time soon.

"Nova…" She starts to speak again in a weak voice. "He won't be fast enough…"

"You're wrong! He will. You're my Mum. You'll be fine. _Fine_."

She ignores me. "Sorry, Nova… I couldn't keep my promises… your father… find Silex…"

She coughs up more blood. "Shh…" I silence her. I crawl up to her face and nuzzle her bloody maw. "Don't talk, Mum."

"Sorry, Nova… sorry…" Her voice trails off into nothingness.

No…! Mum can't be dead, she can't, she promised, she…

"Mum?" She's going to respond, I know it. She told me she'd stay with me forever.

"Stop." See? I knew she was alive. She talked. Except… there's something behind me.

I stop crawling under her and look back. Phendrene is tugging my hindleg. "Stop, Nova," she says again.

"You don't understand."

She wipes some sand from her mouth. "Yes, I do. My mum is also dead, remember?" Her voice is not that of a frightened hatchling. Her voice is calm and steady. "And Mum isn't dead yet, but…"

"What?" I crawl back to Mum's body and put my face next to hers. I feel air.

"Oh… Mum…" She's alive… she's alive!

My face becomes wet with something more than Mum's blood. I don't care.

"Nova…" Phendrene walks up to my side. "I'm… I'm sorry I never spoke to you. I-"

"Shh…" I tell her. Why do I even care about Phendrene talking to me? "Mum… she's alive, and that's all that matters."

Phendrene looks down. "No… at this rate, she'll… she'll die of blood loss…"

"What? No, she won't. She's still alive after the Salamence attacked her. She won't die _now_."

"…Being deluded is nice. But that's all it is."

I snap. "What do _you_ know? If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even be out here! And Mum wouldn't… she… You don't know…"

Why? Why is this happening to Mum? She never did anything to deserve this. It's not fair. It's just not…

I collapse to the floor.

Phendrene sits down next to my head.

"I know Mum told you stuff about me. But there's one thing she didn't know. When I found my mother back in the cave, she wasn't dead either. But her… she had a lot of broken bones. She couldn't move anymore. I tried so hard to keep her alive… but I couldn't. She gave all the food to me, and she starved to death. And I had to watch her body getting thinner and thinner, hear her voice getting weaker and weaker…

"I was so stupid. I told the Salamence where we lived. But… that Salamence wasn't going to harm us at first. He said he just wanted to ask my mother something. But he still attacked her, because he found out that that I was a half-blood and that my mother mated with a Charizard. But when I found my mother in the aftermath, she wasn't even mad. She just smiled and told me to not talk to anyone I didn't trust anymore.

"I… I did trust you. But it wasn't… right. I never liked males. I remember, when I was very young, my father fighting with my mother. And the Salamence I talked to… he was male too. So… I became very scared of them. I talked to other females, like Mum, Vie, and some others, but I… I just couldn't bring myself to talk to you… even though I knew it was illogical…"

She moves in front of me and wipes my face with her paw. "Sorry, Nova."

Her voice… it's so different from what I've always imagined in my mind. I thought it would high-pitched, squeaky even – but her voice is completely normal, soft and quiet. It's surprisingly soothing. And what she told me – I never knew there was so much depth behind her shy exterior. It's as if I haven't known her at all before.

"If this is what has to happen to make you talk to me… I'd rather you not," I joke wryly.

"I know… I'm so sorry." She looks at the ground again morosely, her eyes full of guilt.

"No, Phendrene, that was a joke," I tell her quickly. Then I realise that joking is stupid, because right now Mum is… "Let's… how can we help Mum?"

She looks up and shakes her head. "I don't think we can. Maybe I could try and… cauterise her wounds, but I don't know anything about how to do it. Just pray for her." She tries to smile.

Praying… praying is useless. I refuse to believe that there might be a supernatural being watching over us. If there was, then nothing like this would have happened to Mum. But her smile, though… I'm reminded of Silex's words about her smile. Now I can ask her. "Why are you smiling differently from when I first met you?"

"Huh? Oh… I haven't seen any other Charmander in my life before, so I didn't know what was smiling was actually supposed to be like."

"But isn't it something that you should know how to do instinctively?"

She sighs. "Fine, yes, it is. My mother just told me to not be sad and stay happy after she died. I forced a smile on my face whenever I could. Then Mum… your mum… stopped me."

She calls Mum by "Mum" as well… Now Mum's probably going to die, and I was spending my last days with her being jealous about Phendrene and refusing to talk to her.

Phendrene's words snap me out of my thoughts. "I know I should be worried about Mum right now, Nova, but… where's Vie?"

Vie… she didn't have to bite the Salamence, did she? If this one was only here for information as well… maybe Mum wouldn't be in danger of dying…

I shake my head. It's no use lamenting about what could have been. I still have to answer Phendrene's question. "I buried her in the sand… somewhere…" I widen my eyes in horror as I realise I no longer know where Vie is. "I forgot where I left her!"

"Hold on." Phendrene closes her eyes and stays still for a few seconds. "She's there," she says after opening her eyes, and points to beside the Salamence. I focus my gaze on where she is pointing. I realise that there is a part of Vie's shell on the surface; it's just that the colour is so similar to the sand I didn't recognise it.

I dig her out. She's still unconscious, but at least she has no physical injuries and is still breathing at a normal pace.

"How did you find her?" I ask Phendrene.

"One of the advantages of being a Charmander, something called infrared," she answers offhandedly and turns around to me. "But… I just realised… Mum… she's…"

Full of foreboding, I crawl over to Mum's face again. There's no feeling of her breath flowing past me anymore.

This is it, then? Why don't I feel that sad? Because I've expected it for a while? Or because my grief has been spent up already? Huh. What a stupid concept.

I do feel hollow, though. Like some part of me is missing that can never, ever be replaced.

"So… what are we going to do now?" I ask Phendrene. "Are we still going to try and find your dad, or… or what?"

Phendrene moves her gaze from my mother to me, and wipes a tear from her cheek. "I don't know, Nova," she starts to sob. Then she collapses onto her knees and presses the side of her face against mine.

"I don't know…"


	8. Chapter 8

"Nova, are you all right?"

"Yes, I am. Your parents are dead, and you're all right, aren't you?"

Vie looks at me in a strange way, as if she's worried I'm hiding something. But then she shakes her head. "Okay. But… can you tell me what exactly happened?"

I remember Mum. Cuddling with me with her warm belly, explaining why I didn't have a father, frantically trying to find help when I broke my leg, talking about Silex and half-bloods…

Phendrene and I cried. A lot. There wasn't anything else to do. At least we had each other. Then sleep came and relieved us of the misery.

I don't tell Vie about that, though. It's something between Phendrene and me. Instead, I tell her what happened afterwards.

Bane woke Phendrene and me up in the middle of the night, and asked me what happened. I told him. He had brought Skein, who was also terribly distraught over Mum's death, but he wasn't crying. Maybe he doesn't want to in front of children like us. Bane told Phendrene and me to eat the prey that was caught yesterday – we left it alone. Vie herself was flown to Lyrl for medical treatment because she still hadn't woken up. After that, Bane hunted for Phendrene and me for a while. And the next morning, Silex was for some reason here with us, along with a healthy Vie.

"That's what happened. You're here now, and you're healthy, right?"

Afterwards, some Lyrl Flygon come and retrieves the Salamence's body after I get my bloody black stone back. The stone that couldn't save Mum. At least she is buried, unlike the Salamence who will probably be dissected without a place to rest. I won't let anything like that happen to anyone I care about.

I don't say much more. I don't feel the need to. I just respond with the simplest answers to things that Bane and Silex asked. Vie still tries to comfort me. I repeat to her that I am fine. She probably sees through the lie straight away, but doesn't bother me further.

And now it's back to our previous party with Silex replacing Mum in our search for Hale (which I still don't get why us Trapinch are here for, but at the moment, I don't really care). I'm not sure what used to go on between the two of them, but it looks like Silex is staying for good. That's somewhat comforting, because I've always liked her. But… would she really abandon her life at Lyrl to just take care of Phendrene and me? Then again, she did take Mum in when Mum's parents died, so I suppose she'd do the same for us. I'm not complaining, of course. She's an adept hunter, even with her age, and I think I'll be able to talk to her quite well, and ask her things about Mum that I never got to know… but not when the stench of Mum's blood is still fresh in my mind.

They keep on thinking that I'm going to burst into tears any second. I do, sometimes. But it's just tearing up a bit; I try and withhold the sobs that overcame my whole body when it was just Phendrene and me. But Phendrene… we had to stop because she was crying too hard to move. Well, she is younger. Though it's not like I'm remotely old, anyway. But it's no use crying repeatedly over something that can't be fixed. I feel as I've vented enough sadness out already. Phendrene doesn't think so.

Still, she was so… soothing… right after it happened. I was the one freaking out, then, and she was the one comforting me.

The memories don't get any more distant as the days pass. I try to make conversation with Silex, though I avoid topics about Mum – just about other stuff I'm curious about, like the good old days in the Shallows when I used to find her when I was bored. But then I'm inevitably reminded about how Mum was still there back in the Shallows.

So I ask her why she came here to take care of us, leaving all of Lyrl behind.

She says that she can't leave anyone whose mother has just died. As well as the fact that Mum asked her to in case anything happened.

Then I ask her if she considered herself Mum's mother.

She says yes.

I feel more at peace afterwards.

Vie seems to expect me to have dreams about Mum. I don't, but maybe that's because I tend to not have many dreams. Still, the two of them together warm me up gradually, and I start to feel much better.

I still think about Mum a lot, though. And talk to Phendrene about her, when everyone else is asleep. Vie acts like she doesn't think about her parents that much anymore. I don't want to. I want to cherish Mum forever.

Grass starts to appear sparsely. There is also more of solid dirt rather than sand. The first tree appears after quite a few weeks, and then they start to become more common. It's called Whitewind Forest, says Silex, because of the white catkins that drift in the breeze. The greenness is very unsettling at first. I get used to it eventually, though, in the span of one day, because it is always there to look at. Another day is all it takes for the leaves to get thick enough to block out most of the sky, along with the undergrowth being so dense that I have to crash through it sometimes. Along with that comes ambient forest noises, like insects or birds making noises or leaves rustling in the wind. Phendrene is now carried on Silex's back, because the undergrowth is dense enough for there to be danger of a fire when Phendrene walks around. Although there's plenty of other things on the ground to be wary of, like large roots or maybe small cliffs. We even crossed a few streams.

There's time to reflect on things other than Mum. Like how big the world is. I've only been in a desert for my entire life. Other than forests, there are still places like mountains and plains and swamps. I think I'll want to see them all when I evolve. It's so fascinating, how the world changes. Even when I've only seen this much, I'm getting impressed by the difference between here and the desert.

Phendrene tells me defiantly that the optimism is out of place, but I think it's better like this. Memories are nice, but… you shouldn't dwell on them forever. She doesn't seem to like my explanation and promptly goes to sleep over against a tree, rather than next to me like she usually does. It's kind of weird how she's still more upset than me about it. I've known Mum a lot longer than her! Well, whatever she wants, I guess. She's still just a young child, no matter how mature she can appear at times. So I go to sleep, a bit sad at Phendrene's state.

Except when I wake up, it's gone from my mind, because I've somehow been moved to a roughly constructed shelter made out of a lot of twigs, which has one of its walls against the trunk of what should be a large tree – I can't see anything above me. There's ample light shining through the interwoven branches, so I guess it must be day; but there's no one else around, even if they probably could all fit in here together. Maybe they've decided to stay around here because we're already at the place where Hale said he might be? But that doesn't give them a reason to just leave me at this random place.

I blink again to wake myself up more. I catch a vaguely familiar scent. They're still somewhere around here. Still, they would have no idea I've woken up. I need to find them. And ask them why they left me at a random place when I was sleeping.

I crawl out of the exit, a large hole in the side of the structure opposite of the wall I was sleeping next to. I see a green snakelike creature with little arms, hanging down from a tree branch and watching me, but it swings back up and disappears immediately. I ignore it, because the familiar scent becomes clearer. I think it's Vie's… Wait. It's not hers.

It's Hale's.

Hale? We've finally found him! Where is he? I follow the scent forward. It gets stronger and stronger. I hear his voice. Eventually, I can sense that a dense bush is the only thing that separates us.

"Hale!"

I burst through the bush, expecting to see Hale in front of me. But what I see instead is a clearing full of the others before me.

Phendrene tries to hide her tail inside her arms. Vie stands in front of her, seemingly protecting her from something. Bane and Silex and standing at their sides. Unrecognisable faces, too. A light-coloured Vibrava, next to Vie. A Fraxure and a Grovyle are together opposite them. And a frowning blue creature with a green cap standing alone at the edge. And they're all staring at me.

I realise that Vie's, Phendrene's, and the adults' scents have been here all along, too. I just didn't notice them.

"Umm… is Hale here?" is what I squeeze out.

"I'm here!" the Vibrava shouts cheerfully with Hale's voice. "Didn't think I'd evolve, did ya?"

"Oh… okay." I'm reluctant to say anything else. Phendrene has started looking at me with eyes that say something along the lines of "help me" and I'm reminded Hale's threat about revealing her heritage.

"So," I hear the Fraxure continue in a feminine but firm voice, "you have to get the Charmander out here. We're not risking another fire, one that might destroy the entire forest."

_What_? "A forest fire? What happened?"

The Fraxure snorts, and waves her hand as an act of dismissal. "You know nothing. Shut up." She turns back to the others. "Harley here is does not like putting up with frequent forest fires. Uses up his water too quickly."

"Look," Bane says, shaking his head, clearly tired of the discussion. "Can you get some adults here first? Or whoever's in charge of-"

"What?" The Fraxure interrupts indignantly, and steps forward. "Just because we're not evolved like you doesn't mean we're not adults that can take care of problems!"

I stare at the Fraxure, both awed and appalled. She is charismatic. But at the same time, she is also very abrasive. The two qualities don't put any potential opponents in favourable condition, unless they're just as headstrong. Mum is…

"For your information, this is only the edge of Sceptile territory," the Grovyle adds in, bringing my attention to her. Her tone is a lot more soft and pleasant, and her posture is completely still, a vivid contrast with the Fraxure. "It's too close to the desert for their comfort. But you have to understand that we can't risk a forest fire, even in this area, because it will extend to the whole forest. You're lucky Harley was right next to the tree you lit on fire yesterday."

The smaller blue creature, obviously Harley, nods his head. "There aren't many of us around here," he says in a hoarse voice, with a strange intonation that I can't pin down. "Please don't risk the entire forest's safety. There are plenty of places in the world for Pokémon with fire to be. Here is not one of them."

Not one of my companions responds. So I do.

"We've been in the forest for quite a few days already without any forest fire. As long as we're cautious, it won't happen again." I look nervously at the Fraxure, expecting a sharp response.

Sharp it is. "Oh, because you certainly can be cautious in your sleep," the Fraxure says in an extremely sarcastic tone. "Why don't you bring her to Novaria? Or wherever she came from."

"We can't go back. The Flygon kicked her out for simply being different. And we're not going anywhere without her. Are you really going to stoop as low as bullies and kick out a lonely orphan?" She's not really lonely, she has me – I hope she doesn't consider herself lonely when there's only me – but it would help her gain sympathy, at least, even if I don't like twisting the truth. Well, considering that Rue is exaggerating about the fire, I get to exaggerate, too.

I see the Grovyle's gaze soften as it turns to Phendrene, but the Fraxure is unconvinced. "If she burned the Flygon's place down, then she-"

"Uh, no. She didn't burn the place down, thanks. Get your facts right."

I realise Vie, Bane, and the others are all looking at me now. I don't think they expected me to be the one to stand up to this Fraxure.

"Fine, whatever. Why don't you lead her to the Novaria? I'm sure she won't get banned from _there_."

"Where _is_ Novaria?" I ask her, starting to become more frustrated.

"Wow, you don't even know where the Charizard live, and you tell _me_ to check _my_ facts?" She walks closer and leans over, making her a shadow that looms over me. "You're so smart, Trapinch."

"Look, Rue," Hale says, twitching his newly grown antennae, thankfully making the Fraxure apparently named Rue stand up straight and leaving me alone. "We really can't go back to Lyrl. Trust me, it's a horrible place. And we didn't even know this Novaria exists, let alone where it is. So you're really going to just send us back out to roam in the desert where we're constantly in danger of random Salamence? One of the Flygon that came here to find me died out there, you know."

"Rue, he's right," the Grovyle interrupts Rue, who was clearly just about to speak. "The Charmander can't be older than eight years old. We can't just kick her out. It's not even really our territory."

"Seriously, we're risking the entire forest by letting a Charmander in here." She seems even more aggravated now that her Grovyle companion has spoken against her. Plus, doesn't she have her guardians to protect her? Competent ones that aren't slaughtered by the Salamence?"

_I won't let you talk about Mum like that!_ Before I know it, I'm charging at her. This is a bad idea. But she's stopped me with her foot on my face, so there's no consequence. "Gotta be faster than that if you want to resort to violence, _Trapinch_."

This is why I can't be so sad about Mum. It makes me have impulses I can't control, that can lead to unpredictable consequences. I crawl backwards slowly, somewhat ashamed of my anger.

"To answer your question, no." It's Silex who is speaking this time. "Her birthmother and her surrogate mother have both died. And I'm in no shape to protect anyone."

"Well, I don't care. Let her out by herself or something."

I hear gasps directed at her. They don't sound reflexive. This isn't even a rational argument anymore. This is just an act to see how well they can garner sympathy for Phendrene. From a logical point of view, this is stupid and we're just using the power of the majority to undermine Rue. Because she's right without doubt, Phendrene can cause a forest fire easily. But she's also right about something else. She doesn't care about Phendrene, because Phendrene is just a stranger to her. Well, tell you what, _Fraxure_, you're just a stranger to me, too. So I don't care if you get humiliated even if you are right. …Even if I'm wrong, logically.

That's what I tell myself; that it's a punishment for Rue's sociopathy. But I know, in reality, that I'm just trying to keep Phendrene safe. I can't to afford to lose her, even if it puts the forest in danger. Selfish, yes, but isn't that how we all work?

"That's a despicable thing to say." Vie's hiss brings my attention back to the real world. It was in response to Rue.

"What?" Rue continues on her statement. "Don't you think the safety of the whole forest is worth more than the safety of a single Charmander?"

Harley speaks up. "As long as they don't start fires, I'm fine with it." Then he promptly runs off into the undergrowth somewhere.

"Fires don't work like that!" She yells at Harley, but he's gone.

"Ugh. And you too?" she asks the Grovyle. The Grovyle dips her head at the floor, but says nothing. Rue's frown grows bigger. "Fine! Do what you want. Ruin the forest. It's not like I'm the one that relies on it." Then she walks away as well, in a different direction compared to Harley, stomping her feet in what must be anger.

"Sorry about that," the Grovyle says, bringing my gaze back from where Rue left. "She can get… unpleasant, at times."

I'm reminded of Dice. How she tried to excuse her friend's behaviour. But it doesn't matter. They're not here anymore. Only Rue and…

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Huh? Oh, just call me Lin. What about yours?" she asks in a friendly tone.

"His name is Nova," Vie answers for me. "Sorry, can you leave us alone for a bit? We need to discuss some stuff. Private stuff."

I'm a bit annoyed at Vie's interruption, but Lin doesn't seem to think so. "Sure. I understand. I need to calm Rue down, anyway." And with that, she also dashes into the undergrowth where Rue did.

"Ah. It's finally over," Bane says, relieved. "But anyway." He adjusts his posture, and starts talking in a lot more irritated tone. "Hale, why did you even _think_ about going away from Lyrl? And you also just said you're not going back. You can't be serious?"

"Of course I'm serious!" Hale says back in an equally irritated tone. "Lyrl's a horrible place. There is absolutely no way I am _ever_ going back there."

"Right," Vie adds in. "I need to tell you this, too. I'm not going back, either."

"What the- _Vie!_ Just because our parents are dead doesn't mean you can do what you want. Why are you so upset at Lyrl, anyway?"

"The Flygon and Trapinch there are horrible to us. It's that simple."

"And they kicked Phendrene out simply because she wasn't a Trapinch. That's just mean. Even moreso than that Rue," Vie adds in.

I feel Phendrene's tug on my leg. Somewhere during this conversation, she came over from Vie to me.

No one else notices, either, and the angry words between the siblings continue. "No, but seriously… you've all been through the Shallows. You all know how dangerous it is to be alone." Bane's voice is somewhat softer.

Hale's isn't. "Not in the forest. The Salamence won't even be able to see us. And I've met Sceptile already; they're very nice. No need to worry about them."

"…Vie? I didn't know you were like this, too."

"Well, Lyrl does suck, but I want to stay with Nova. He literally can't go back to Lyrl, if you wanted to suggest that, because of Phendrene."

"Vie! B-but _we're_ family!"

"Nova's like my family, too. …Sorry, Bane. Uh, you can still stay with us if you want to."

"No. Cole's still back there, waiting for me." Bane's voice is suddenly bitter. "I can't believe you two would just abandon us, when you're the only things we have left in the world." Maybe it's a spur of the moment thing, but Bane just flaps his wings and takes off into the air.

"I'll go get him," Silex decides, and follows. She's surprisingly quiet during other people's conversations. Quite different from Mum.

"Okay. So, we'll let Silex sort Bane out. But… what exactly happened after I left? How did your Mum…?" Hale asks me.

Oh. "Well… there was this Salamence. And, you know, it killed her."

Hale has this weird facial expression that I can't really identify. I haven't paid too much attention to Vibrava's body language before. Before I can ask him about it, he says, "Vie, can I borrow Nova for a bit? I need to speak to him about something. In private."

"Oh, okay. I'll go, uh, try and find Silex and Bane."

"Phendrene, I have to talk to Hale," I tell her. She reluctantly lets go and watches as Hale signals me to go with him. He crawls surprisingly faster, but it's not much effort to keep up as we only go as far as the place where I slept. He goes inside the structure of sticks, and I follow.

"You know," he says once we both get in, "Rue's not as bad as she seems. Well, once you get to know her. This is where she sleeps, and she let me in here when I first got to the forest." Huh. Maybe that's why I only noticed his scent this morning. "And she let you here, too, when you slept through the fire. But anyway, that's not what I led you here for. It's about… well, the conversation we had under Lyrl."

"Oh." I tense. We didn't part on nearly friendly terms down there. "What about it?"

"I want to say… I'm sorry about it. I shouldn't have been so mad at you. I shouldn't have threatened you about Phendry. I'm sorry. I hope we can be friends again."

Huh? Did he just call Phendrene Phendry? Whatever, that's not what matters right now. "It's okay. We're better off now, aren't we?"

"No, we're not. You… your mother's dead because you came to find me."

"It's not your fault, though. I can technically say that it is your fault, or Vie's, or Phendrene's, but that would just be stupid. It's because of the Salamence… and now, well, I just have to deal with it."

"Still. I know how much it hurts. I had to watch my mother die to defend me, too."

What? I didn't know that. "You were in the cave when your family was attacked?"

"Yeah. I was. Sare was there too. Mum told us to get away from there. I did, because I could dig and my shell blended in with the sand. But… Sare… he'd just evolved… and he couldn't dig. I had to leave him behind. And… we didn't even find his body. But the point is, you… you shouldn't try to hide your sadness. Crying about it helps a lot, you know."

"It was already weeks ago. I did a lot of crying already." I keep my gaze on Hale, even if I feel like I want to look away. "But… I have to move on. I can't just dwell in my mother's memory and fade away to nothing. I still wish that she was here… but it's not as if I can find a way to revive her."

"Whoa!" He suddenly says in a somewhat amused but admiring voice. "Where did you get such wisdom?" He raises one of his forelegs and puts it on the middle of my head, getting my attention. I let my eyes focus on it. It is black and a lot thinner, with two forks at the end. How do Vibrava support themselves on this?

"Did you get hit in the head by a psychic rock? Or maybe you're secretly a two-hundred year old ancient Latios hiding in a Trapinch form!"

"Hah, no. I'd love to be a legendary Pokémon." My eyes focus back onto his face. "But seriously, that's just what I think. I mean, do you really think I'd be able to revive her?"

He moves his foreleg back down to the ground. It tickled, his new "claw". "Maybe you can! You're smart. I bet you can do all sorts of things I'll never even dream of." He sighs. "Anyway, there's something I want to ask about Vie. Why did you say it could technically be her fault? As in, your mum…?"

"Oh." I'm a bit reluctant to word it in a way that blames Vie, but he is his twin sister, so he should know. "The Salamence didn't get particularly aggressive until Vie attacked him. But it doesn't matter. I don't want to talk about Mum anymore." It's making me sad again. I've already been sad enough about her during the weeks that it took to get her. And didn't I just tell myself that I wouldn't dwell on her?

Hale nods. "Okay. But Vie… you know, I don't think she really shows you her aggressive side that much. I remember her ranting about the Salamence a lot. I… I hate them too, but I think she's being a bit overboard," he finishes and looks at me, expecting a response.

My gaze focuses on Hale's. His eyes show worry that is so unlike his demeanor. "Hale… she's _your_ twin, wouldn't you know how she feels better than me? Plus… I didn't think you would be- I mean, I thought you would be the same as Vie. You know, your attitude on the Salamence."

He chuckles a bit. "Oh, that. Yeah, I ranted about it a lot to Rue. But she convinced me to let it go." He glances around the little settlement. "She made this too. See? She's not really that bad. But anyway, enough about me. I really think Vie is too-"

"I guess she does get a bit fanatic about it. We can talk to her later about it." I don't know what else I can say regarding Vie. Plus, I don't like this topic either. It annoys me. "Anyway, what's it like being a Vibrava? When did you even evolve? Aren't you only twelve?"

Hale brightens considerably. "Oh! Evolving actually feels really nice. You have a lot more energy. And flying's great! Even if I can't fly very well yet. Plus, you can see a lot better. Same works for hearing too, if you concentrate. Let me try." He closes his eyes behind the curious green goggles and his antennae lifts up slightly. Then his eyes open again instantly.

"Wait," he whispers, "I hear Phendrene outside. I think she heard everything we said. I think you should go; I might upset her."

Phendrene's outside? I wonder what she would make of our conversation. I crawl outside slowly, and there she is, ears pressed against the wall of sticks. Upon seeing me, she is surprised and tenses her body, and tries to back up, but trips and falls over on her back. I crawl over to her.

"Hey, Phendrene, it's okay. Come on in. We won't mind you," I tell her.

She gets back up, and I realise she's in tears. "You do. You got threatened because of me! Everyone hates half-bloods. And… and… how can you be so heartless? Mum _died._ She's _dead_. And you already say you want to forget her. If I die, you'd want to just forget me too. You…" She stops speaking and gives out a particularly large sob. There are literally glossy tear lines down her face.

It really hurts to see Phendrene like this. "I'm so sorry… but…" I realise that I can't say anything to placate her. I do, perhaps in the backmost part of my mind, want to forget about Mum, so I stop feeling sad about her.

Hale crawls out from beside me. Phendrene suddenly widens her eyes and stops sobbing, staring straight at Hale. Then she runs off frantically into the forest.

"…You don't actually hate half-bloods, do you?"

He sighs. "Of course not. I don't hate you, and for all I know, you could be a half-blood too."

I turn my head towards him. His smile no longer seems friendly. "What did you just say?" I hiss.

"Whoa, calm down," Hale says in a surprised tone. "What's gotten into you? I thought you were fine with half-bloods!"

"Sorry," I mutter, and shake my head. "I've talked to Vie about it before. Half-bloods, I mean. And then we talked about what if my dad wasn't a Flygon. And… basically, it was disgusting. In my mind, I mean."

"Oh? Mating is disgusting?" Hale asks, his voice more curious than questioning.

"Well, if they're not the same species, then yes. I mean, it's weird enough when it's two Flygon. If you throw something else in… _Ew_."

For some reason, Hale laughs. It's not the condescending type either, just as if something is funny. "Well, that's what I thought at first. You'll change your mind when you evolve and talk about it more, though. At least, I hope so, for the sake of my sister." He gives a wink at me.

I'm not sure how to respond to that. But I manage to find something to talk about after a few seconds of staring at Hale's face. I'll get used to his statements in a while. "Well, okay. Did you change when you evolved, too? Last time I remembered you were pretty upset over romantic issues."

For a moment I'm scared that he might suddenly become aggressive again, but he doesn't. Instead he just gives an exaggerated sigh and rolls his eyes a bit. "It's not as if I'm going to be meeting her again anytime soon. It's better to focus on the present!" he finishes in a sort of glamorous way.

"Why do you act like you got an _actual_ present or something?"

He giggles a bit more. "Well, isn't it kind of funny right now? In the forest right now and around our age, there's just us two males. And there's three – wait, four females! Doesn't that give us a wider… choice?" He gives a devilish grin again.

"Don't tell me you're seriously considering to either mate with someone that's not of your species. Or even worse, _your sister_."

Hale backs up to the wall of the shelter. "Nova, let's get back in for a sec." His voice is a bit more serious, though still quite casual, at least compared to the other voices that I've heard recently. Which is quite nice, but I still feel somewhat intimidated by him. I don't know why. Maybe it's because he has threatened me physically before, back down in the underground of Lyrl.

He turns around and faces me again after I follow him in. "Okay," he starts in a lower volume. "I don't mean to offend you or anything, but… why are you so against half-bloods? I mean, you don't mind Phendrene-"

"It's not the actual half-bloods. It's their parents. Why would they… mate in the first place?" I guess it's not as disgusting as I make it out to be, because I had that unpleasant image in my head about Mum... But still.

Hale looks to the side a bit, as if he is trying to saying something he doesn't want to. "See, you're smart and all. I don't mean you're stupid, but… Ugh, like, you can't just tell somebody something and expect them to feel like what you tell them. I can't, either, obviously. But what I mean is you don't really have any control over who you want to pick as your mate. It's just random feelings and instincts. At least, I think it's like that."

"But don't we have intelligence for this reason? To make decisions based on logic rather than instinct. If your hypothetical child would be… uh, "picked on" by others, why don't you mate with someone of your own species instead? Wouldn't it be-"

"No." His voice has gotten a lot more serious, and he's looking straight as me right now. "You can do what you want. Who cares about what the rest of the world thinks? As long as you're happy, why does it matter?"

I'm tempted to talk about how I have to rely on others to hunt food for me, but that's probably not relevant to him. He'll probably just tell me to start hunting or something. So I opt for a more extremist route. "So if I want to murder everyone-"

He interrupts me again with a big sigh, more annoyed than friendly this time. "_Nova_, you know what I mean. Stop being dumb. You're not dumb."

Maybe I was being a little stubborn. All right, more than a little stubborn. "Yeah, fine, I guess you're right. Sorry."

His tone relaxes but it still seems a little annoyed. "It's okay. Just… would you hate Vie if she mated with a Salamence? Okay, bad example. Would you hate her if she mated with… me?"

"That's _incest_. It's not even moral issues, but your offspring would have genetic-"

"Yeah, bad example again. We're not even different species, for obvious reasons. Hmm. Okay, if it was me and Phendry. How about that?"

I frown. "No, not really too okay with that."

He laughs. "What? Jealous? Maybe I should tell Vie…" he finishes in a cheeky tone.

"No! It's just… I get it, okay? Half-bloods are fine, even if I wouldn't try and make them on purpose. Like, if it was you and I don't know, that Lin, I guess… I probably wouldn't mind. Phendrene… she's a different issue altogether. She's really afraid of most males. So you can count her out when considering the so-called relationship possibilities." For some reason, that last statement makes me feel more peaceful. Probably in the knowledge that Phendrene won't be bothered by anyone.

"Oh. Okay… But are you sure you're fine with half-bloods? Say, if you found out that you are actually a half-blood. Would you feel different about yourself?"

I look down at my forelegs. "Even if I was one, I'm still the same, right? But… it would be different, knowing that my Mum mated with… another species of dragon rather than a Flygon."

"Well, I guess that's good enough. I can't exactly change your fundamental way of thinking… You know, when I was younger, my mother talked to me quite a lot about half-bloods. My father wasn't too happy about it, but in the end… Whatever, that doesn't really matter now." He glances outside. "We probably should go find the others. I want to know what they're up to."

I don't say anything as I follow him back out into the dim light filtered by the thick canopy, as he leads the way to find the others. He's obviously familiarised himself with the area with the time that he has been here. Speaking of which, he hasn't really talked about how exactly he got here after emerging into the desert. I guess there's not much to it; he probably just travelled in the direction and got here eventually.

The clearing is empty when we arrive. Hale doesn't seem surprised. "Hold on, I'll try and find someone." He spreads his wings. "Jealous?" he teases, and flies off into the trees.

Hale. I don't-

"Nova." I blink, and realise Phendrene's in front of me now. "Come." Before I can respond, she tries to drag me off to the side. I'm too heavy for that, but I follow her anyway.

"Are you finished with your melodrama yet?" Her face shrivels and an apology comes out of my mouth immediately afterwards.

"Nova." She says my name so much. "Why? Why are you over it so quickly? If I didn't know you, I'd think you are heartless."

"Look, I know you're sad. I was, too. But… it's not good to be sad forever. You can't do anything about the dead."

She shrugs. "Yes, I can. I remember everything vividly. And then I'll know how to stop it from happening anymore. And no one I love will die again."

Her predatory gaze is unsettling. "Fine. What _have_ you learned from being depressed the whole time?"

"I've learned that you don't really care! About-" She stops and crosses her arms. "It doesn't matter. I want to remember Mum. And I'm gonna do what I want."

"Well, I don't want to… be depressed over something I have no control over."

"So if everyone suddenly dies you won't be depressed over it?"

"No! What I mean is, I've cried enough. You have, too. But we're in the forest now. We're safe from the Salamence. And… I just want you to be happy again."

"If you pretend to be happy and hide yourself behind a mask, it'll only hurt more when your smile is broken. …It really does hurts."

"But I'm not–"

"Forget it!" she shouts in exasperation. "Do what you want. I don't care!" She starts to walk off, holding her tail with her hand.

"Phendrene! Stop!" I try and follow her, but it's clear that she's faster. "What do you want? How can I make you happy?" I shout, hoping that she would stop.

She does and turns around, but stays where she is. A patch of red in the greenery. Like a little flaw that ruins the whole thing. "I… I just don't get it. Why are _you_ happy in the first place?" she asks me.

"I'm not. But she's gone. We can't bring her back. And it wasn't in our ability to stop the Salamence, either. We can only try and stay safe, and go on with our lives. Mum would have wanted that."

She stays silent for a while. "Yes," she whispers, "Mum would have."

She looks down and fiddles with her tail. "I don't know… it's just when my first mother died, she… she told me to stay happy. So I did. But it didn't work out. So I don't know what to do now…"

"You don't have to be happy or sad. You can just acknowledge the truth, and…" I search for the right word to say. "Live."

"…Okay." She blinks and wipes her eyes. Then she closes the distance between us. "So, what do we do now?"

"I think we should go and find Lin. I mean, she seems friendlier than Rue. And we're going to know the place if we're to stay here."

I start crawling back into the clearing before she asks suddenly, "Are you going to hunt?"

"What? Uh, I don't know. I don't want to think about it."

"Oh, okay then."

There's a slightly awkward silence between us for a few seconds. I try and think of something to say, and even though what I come up with is still pretty awkward, it should suffice. In fact, it's actually quite important. "Can you stop running away from Hale? He's not-"

"He knows I'm a half-blood, though. I don't want-"

"He doesn't mind half-bloods, trust me. It'll be fine."

She frowns and looks away. "I still don't want to talk to males."

I'm tempted to ask "Why not?" before I remember that she told me she knew it was irrational. I guess I should be glad she's not ignoring me.

"Well, still, the least you can do is to try-" I stop talking as I hear footsteps. A moment later, the Fraxure, Rue, appears right next to me. Her face is now neutral, unlike before.

Phendrene's warmth leaves my side. When I turn my head around to look at her, I realise she has retreated towards a behind nearby tree.

Rue's face turns into a grin. "Silly Charmander, it's not like I'm trying to attack you or anything." She turns her head towards me. "And I'm looking for you, anyway. What's your name?"

"Trapinch," I respond automatically, wary of what she might want me for.

"Oh, come on, just because I was trying to defend the forest doesn't mean-"

"Hey! Stay away from Nova!" Vie bursts into the clearing, shouting. She comes quickly between Rue and me. "You've bothered us enough. Leave us alone."

I look back at the spot where Phendrene was, and see that she has vanished. She's good at staying away from other people, it seems.

Rue's laugh brings my attention back to her. "Way to stand up for your little lover." If she's trying to tease us, she's failing because Vie and I have talked it through already. "Hey, you, do you mind me?" she asks me after seeing that we have no reaction.

I'm torn between whether to please Vie or Rue. After a few moments of thought, I decide to just throw the concept of placating one of them out of my mind and answer truthfully. "I don't mind talking to you, if that's what you're asking."

Rue smiles haughtily. "See, he doesn't mind after all! Seems like you don't know him well enough."

Vie looks at me, somewhat disappointed, and moves out of the way. "Well, at least my name isn't Rue. What kind of person names their hatchling as if they regretted the hatchling for simply existing?"

She sighs. "One, just say child over hatchling. Saves you time, and stops any self-deprecation." What does that have to do with anything? I don't even get what she means, but it's not like I can stop her to ask her. "Two, Rue can also mean a type of evergreen shrub, which is what my parents named me for. Plus, that's not even my full name. And what's _your_ name, girl?"

Vie hesitates for a moment, but then declares loudly, "Vie."

"Oh, okay. But I don't see anyone _vying_ for you. Does that mean _your_ name is wrong, too?"

Vie doesn't say anything further. She just gives a derisive humph and crawls off in the direction of the shelter.

"People tend to exit discussions when they don't know how to rebut the opposite side. It just happens. Anyways, do you-"

"Did you just say the word "people"? Are you referring to…" Does she know what I learned from Porygon-Z, too?

"What? Oh, I'm not referring to humans. It's just how I refer to a person. Wait, that doesn't help. Eh, it's just how I refer to other beings."

I feel somewhat excited. "Is it the same as what you said about hatchlings and self-deper… self-decre…"

"Deprecation. What I mean is that we're worth just as much as humans. "We" as in every Pokémon. I know you use "dragons" when you normally refer to others; I think that's wrong."

"I don't refer to others as dragons!" I finally found someone that agrees with me!

She smiles. "That's nice to know. But seriously. Can you tell me your name now?"

Eh, I've trolled her enough. "Nova."

She sits down against a tree, as if she expects this conversation to last quite a while. She's still taller than me even when sitting down. "And?"

I crawl closer to her. "What do you mean, 'And'? What else is there?"

"Uh, your surname?"

She said it like it's something obvious. "What's a surname?"

"You seriously don't know? I might've overestimated your intelligence." I tense a bit, but as she chuckles with her claw over her mouth I realise she's just joking. "Nah, I think it's just a lack of information. Anyway, a surname is this secondary name people have that is inherited from the parents. Like, my full name is Lunarue Faraday. Lin's is Zacklin Zenfield. Anyway, so you don't have one?"

"Nope." Talking to her is actually more interesting than I thought. "And I don't shorten first names, either."

"That's because you can't shorten it anymore, dum-dum. Mine's shortened because Dad just called me that. Lin's is because… she had a brother… never mind. That's not what I was talking about. You don't have a surname, right?"

"Uh, no." Now I'm curious about Lin's brother, but it's obvious that it's something sensitive and I shouldn't ask about it.

"Hmm. Then you should probably use your parents' name for convenience. Your father's to be precise, since you're male." She grabs a piece of bark off the tree and grinds it against her tusk. "So, what's your father's name?"

The father whom I don't even know the species of. Whatever. Like Hale said, it doesn't matter. "Blight."

"Huh?" She stares at me for. Well, I guess Blight isn't a normal name, either. "Oh, okay," she continues a few seconds. "That means your full name can be Nova Blightson."

Er… "It sounds really weird."

"Well, you don't have to actually use it. Just a bit of trivia."

She seems amiable enough, despite the previous argument, so I don't hide any questions I have. "Why did you want to talk to me? Is it really just chatting like this? Or is it about Phendrene? I mean the Charmander."

"I know she's called Phendrene. Hale told me. And nah, it's not about that. Just talking." She throws the piece of bark away into a bush. "And as for why it's you, I don't know. I find you interesting. Ahaha. Be flattered."

"So, just chatting?"

"Yeah, why not? Unless you want to battle. I'll probably trash you, though." She laughs again.

If I were Vie, I might've gotten upset. But it is true that Rue is a lot bigger than me. Plus, I suck at battling. "So, how old are you?"

"I don't know, actually. Somewhere around seventeen? Do you really bother to keep track of the date?"

"Well, back in Lyrl, I could just ask a random adult and they'd tell me. But seriously, you're so old! Are you going to evolve soon?"

"I don't know. Dad said he evolved into a Haxorus when he was twenty-something…"

We talk about a lot of random things. It's kind of like with Zeta, except she recites all the interesting stuff from memory, rather than searching it up. Turns out her father was a traveller. Knew a lot of stuff. And he passed it all down to her, before he went on to travel again, leaving her in this forest. Sounds kind of like my dad, too. Except… at least she got to know hers.

She also gives me a tour of the area. Her shelter is a bit east of the clearing. There's a small river that runs east of that. The Sceptile live even further to the east, which is where Lin stays with her family. Rue always stays outside the general vicinity of the Sceptile, because she says that they don't like other species. She tells me to stay away, too. I listen, because I remember Phendrene getting kicked out of Lyrl.

Eventually, we follow the river upstream. She brings me to a clearing, a much larger one this time, with a big space in the dense foliage so that I can see the sky. The river comes from a higher ledge, flowing through the middle of the clearing. It seems familiar.

"I like to stay here most of the time. Sunlight is nice. There's water to drink. And it's pretty scenery, too!"

I don't answer her. "I've been here before. I've been here before in a dream."

"What?" She turns to me, eyes full of curiosity. "Are you sure? You wouldn't know what this place looks like. You've never been in a forest before."

"I don't know. It just feels… familiar."

I crawl forward to the edge of the river. Maybe river isn't the right word, since there's less water flowing than downstream. And the water is slow and smooth enough for me to see my reflection.

I've changed a lot. I used to be cheesy and mess around with Vie all the time in the Shallows. Then the Salamence, and Phendrene, and things like Hale fighting with Dree or learning about Dad… and Mum dying. But when I look at my reflection, I am the same. Still have the same round head. Still have the huge jaw. Still have the scar that Vie inflicted on my right foreleg. And still have the blue mark on my face. Do people notice it all the time? They must, it's not as if they can identify me from other Trapinch. Well, I guess there's the smell too, but still, I heard Flygon rely much more on sight than smell once they evolve.

I'm distracted by a shower of grass on my head. I turn around to find Rue laughing. "Done with your deep reflection, O Great Shining Star?" She laughs even harder. It takes a moment for me to understand it was a joke on my name.

"None of your business, Shrub." Okay, that didn't sound as catchy, even if "Rue" does mean a type of shrub. But at least it made her laugh harder, even if I didn't find it that funny, myself.

I stare at her in amusement. She's taking a long time to calm down, so I try and observe her carefully instead. I've never seen a member of the Haxorus family before, so after recognising her species I just took her appearance for granted. I wouldn't know which part of her is natural for Fraxure and which parts aren't. Are they supposed to have red tips on their tusks and tail? Protruding green parts on the top of their head and chest? And two red patches on their abdomen?

As her laughter dies down, I spot a mark on her face above her task. No, it's not a mark. It's a scar.

"Finally done with your crazy laughter, Scarface?"

She stops laughing immediately and stiffens up. Her claw goes up to touch the place where the scar is placed.

"Sorry." It's reflexive.

"…Nah, it's okay. I just… I forgot I even had a scar here."

I stay silent, afraid that anything else I say will make her remember more.

But she doesn't seem to mind. "It's not a big deal. It's just that… it reminds me of my father. He used to battle with me. It didn't hurt or anything, it's just some scratches. But… it reminds me of him. And I miss him. He left only a few years ago… he says he's been stuck in one place for long enough. He wanted to see more of the world."

"I…" From her speech, I feel compelled to tell her about my father. "Me too. But I never even knew my father. I don't even know if he's alive."

"That's actually more like my mother. But I don't care about her. She left because she didn't want to raise a child. She didn't care about me." Her tone is angrier now. "This is why I don't want to evolve. After I evolve I'll have more hormones and all that crap… and I'll probably want to find a mate and have children. My parents… they've abandoned me. I definitely don't want to be a parent. I can't see how it would do any good."

She's right. It's not just her. Vie, Phendrene, me, who knows how many others… our parents have left us alone in this world. But…

"It's not their fault if they die, right? …I had a mother, weeks ago. Then she got killed."

"Uh… I know it sounds really insensitive of me to say this, but at least you know where she is. I have no idea where my parents are. They both left me."

I'm not offended at all. Probably because I would actually rather her not say something along the lines of "I'm sorry." And maybe her situation is really worse. My father went away to kill the Hydreigon. My mother died to defend us. But if your parents voluntarily abandoned you…

I try to cheer her up. "Yours are alive. You can try and find them."

"That's my goal in life, now. To train and become stronger, to prepare myself for the harsh world outside this sanctuary. That way, I'm more prepared to find them – or rather, just my father. What about you? What's your goal in life?"

I open my mouth but then I realise I don't have a goal in life. "I… I don't know. I like talking with people. About stuff. Am I supposed to have one?" I start to panic. "Have I just been talking my life away? What am I supposed to do?"

"It's okay. You're only twelve, aren't you?" Her voice is soothing. "But from what I've seen of you today, you can act a lot more mature. Like… when you were defending Phendrene this morning. No one else dared talk back to me other than you."

Not flattered. "But… that doesn't mean I haven't been wasting my time…"

"Well, if you insist, make one now, and work towards it. Like, my ultimate goal in life, after I find my father, is immortality." She grins. "I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I want to live forever, and learn things. I love knowing things, and I don't want all my knowledge to just disappear as I die. And if the legendary Pokémon can do it, why can't I?"

It is a bit crazy. More than a bit, actually. "How… how're you gonna do it?"

"Well, I don't know for sure. But my dad knows a lot. And finding him will probably help." She looks to the sky. The sun is high up, now. "He taught me everything I know. Still can't forgive him for leaving me, though. But enough about me." She looks back at me. "To have a goal you need to know what you want. So, what do you want?"

"I… I don't know." What is this concept of knowing what to do? Is your life really just based in one direction? …What is the purpose of life, anyway? Why does it matter?

"Well, try and think of something." She makes an inviting gesture with her arm. "What makes you happy?"

"Happy…? I kind of want to be back in Lyrl. But I don't want to either," I continue quickly, in case she wants to make that my goal, "because I don't want to leave Phendrene and Hale. And… I really want Mum back. But-"

"Bingo. There. Bring your mum back. Goal set."

She pulls another piece of bark from a nearby tree. "Don't look at me like that. I recon immortality would be a harder goal than yours. Just go find some really powerful psychic or gain the favour of some legendary. You have your whole life to think about it and do it. You really have more time than you freak. Stop freaking out over it. I didn't tell you so you could go crazy over it."

"But it's… You know what, fine. I don't want one, then. It's too confusing. Ugh, my head hurts." I close my eyes and rest my head on the ground.

"Exactly. Maybe you need to grow a larger brain in order to understand the complexity of this." I hear her chuckle again. "But in all seriousness, you're only twelve. You'll need to wait a lot of years if you want to be able to accomplish anything anyway. So, just ignore it. I guess I was just rambling."

She stays silent for a bit, seemingly expecting me to respond. I don't. "Enough rest, Shiny. Now get up."

I ignore her.

So she picks me off the ground. I open my eyes and realise she's dangling me off from my hindlegs and I'm looking at her upside down face.

"Aaaah! Let me go let me go let me go…"

"Have a mild case of acrophobia, hmm?"

"Let me go let me go LET ME GO!"

"Oh fine."

She drops me on the floor (which doesn't hurt, thanks to my shell), and immediately I dig a small hole and secure my hindlegs in it. "Don't do that again. That was really, really scary."

"It was fun, though!" she exclaims. "You're going to learn fly once you evolve, anyway. I won't get to." She makes an exaggerated sad face.

"Hey, but you know so much more… stuff. What did your dad even teach you?"

"A lot of things. History and geography and all that stuff. Like, the Hydreigon; Dad said they were still here when I was born, but I don't remember them. Also stuff like the disappearance of humans and Altaria, or the Dragonite's retreat… and when I'm a bit sick of dragons, things like the biology and whereabouts of psychics and ghosts, or the Water Pact with the Ludicolo. Or maybe just sightings of Unovan Pokémon."

"Woah… can you tell me about it? I've never even heard of half of what you've just said."

"Okay. Aw, I should get paid for this…" She sits down against a tree again and starts rambling.

Some subjects, I know more about than her. Like who exactly ended the Hydreigon regime, even if I myself don't know about the specifics. I would tell her, but with all those life goals jumble of trying to get your parents back it would just make my head hurt more. For all the other things, though, her knowledge makes my so-called smartness look stupid. Apparently out of Evitern there's plenty of other places, where humans take Pokémon under ownership by transferring them into energy form inside what is known as a Poké Ball. Sounds really ridiculous, but then again, these are from the humans. We don't exactly know how they handle these things, but they just do.

She also tells me about stuff that's closer and more relevant to us. For instance, the Sceptile made an agreement with the Ludicolo; in return for not being hunted for prey, they'll exterminate any forest fires that may propagate from fire Pokémon's activities. That's what Harley was doing, because he's old enough by the Ludicolo to take on such responsibilities. He's even old enough to evolve, but he chooses not to.

How do Pokémon evolve? I say it's just a huge burst of hormones. Rue insists that more is involved; some radioactive or electromagnetic substance. She says that it's similar to the way that psychics and ghosts manage their paranormal activity.

Then she talks about where they are. She assures me that they're not extinct, just hiding, probably because they're afraid of Hydreigon, or something like that.

"Why is nothing ever concrete?" I ask.

"Because we don't know if something really happened, since everything we know about the past is from accounts of others. Unless you travel back in time. Which you can't, so yeah."

But she's sure of one thing, she says. The Salamence are responsible for the lack of Altaria. Apparently they cohabited the Zeal mountains. Then the Salamence wanted more territory.

But Evitern is big. There's Whitewind Forest which we are in right now. West of this is Aeride desert, while east of this is another less dense and more humid forest that doesn't really have a definitive name, since the Dragonite residing there have different languages and everything gets muddled up. The conventional name is just "the West Forest", apparently. South of these forests are some random plains, east of the Zeal mountains (which means they're south of the desert). And at the south-most end, before the sea starts, are the caverns underground where the Charizard are from.

It's hard to remember. I had no idea about any of this except for the fact the Salamence came from some kind of mountain. "Okay. So… desert's in the northwest corner, mountains are in the southwest, forests are in the northeast, plains are in the southeast. And next to the plains are caverns?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that, but that's basically it. What about who lives where?"

"Er… Flygon in Aeride desert, Sceptile and Dragonite in the forests, Salamence in the Zeal mountains, Garchomp at… uh, they move too much. Oh, and Charizard in the Novaria caverns. Speaking of which, did my parents name me after that or something?"

"Heh. I don't know, probably not, seeing as you're not a Charmander. But it was actually named after someone. You see, it was originally called Varia, because humans needed that or something to get inside there, or something. Basically, after the humans disappeared there was this Charizard hero that saved them from the Garchomp. And her name was Nova. So you are just the namesake-"

"_Her_?"

"Well, yeah." The way she looks at me changes slightly. "…Are you sexist or something?"

"I don't even know what that is. What I mean is, like, she has the same name as me, and-"

"Oh. What the hell." Her face is contorted into something between confusion and amusement. "_You're a freaking guy_?"

"Ummm… I prefer "male", but yes, I am a guy. How didn't you-"

"My sense of smell is quite bad compared to yours. How can you even tell gender by smell?" she asks as if it's something along the lines of an impossible feat.

"Well, males kind of smell more musky, and females are kind of, uh… nice? It's really hard to explain. Anyway, what I meant was, I thought you took a jibe at us – as in, Vie and me. It's not like we could mate if we were the same gender."

She places her claw on her face, like I just said something that was really stupid. "Ugh. That was the joke. And people CAN mate even if…" She stares at me for a moment. "Nah, you're not old enough. Just ignore it for now. But seriously. YOU'RE A GUY."

"Yes, I am!" And I was just about to ask more questions about the joke. Oh well. "Anyway, it's surprising enough anyway that I might've been named after some hero. Seriously, my name is everywhere. Like that Unovan thing, it kind of sounds like "Nova" too. What is that?"

After taking a few minutes to get over the fact that I'm, in fact, not female, she continues on with her lecture. Turns out Pokémon are native to different areas around the world, and Unovan Pokémon happen to be very rare in this place. Rue lists a bunch that I've never even heard of. "And I'm one, too!" she exclaims.

"Oh. Is that, um, why you didn't specify a location where the Haxorus live in Evitern?"

"Yeah, there aren't really… any at all. I don't even know if others actually exist, other than my parents. I'd like to find one, though." She gazes into the evening sky longingly. "Whatever. I'm hungry. Let me show you the prey around here. Not sure how it'll translate to Trapinch's hunting techniques, but I'll do what I can."

She stifles a groan as she stretches and stands up. "Okay. So Hale told me that mainly-"

"No."

My interruption seems to confuse her. "Huh? Don't you want help on hunting, too?"

"I don't hunt. And I'm not hungry either." My voice is kind of emotionless. I'm not sure what makes it like that.

Rue's voice is suddenly very irritated. "Oh my freaking- what is wrong with you?" She bends her back and looms over me again. "Seriously, you're still eating meat, and that means Pokémon still die for it. If you really want to abide to your deontological views then just die."

"But… I… I don't want to die."

"Then stop bitching about how you don't like killing other Pokémon and how it's wrong and all that crap. I'm sick of it."

No… why is she so aggressive? She's so scary… "B-but I didn't say that," I defend myself while backing up into the clearing.

"Oh, then what did you imply by that? You're not hunting because… you have some physical disability?" She walks over to me again. "Hm?"

I would say yes if I wanted to defeat her in this argument. …But then I would be lying. I don't want to lie. "You… you're right. I-"

"See? I was right, you little lying piece of sh-"

The ground behind me suddenly disappears and there's another moment of weightlessness and then wetness.

And then there's cold.

"HELP!" I yell, but it just comes out as a bunch of gurgling. Stupid water! I need to get out! But it feels as if I'm being dragged away.

Strong arms surround me and lift me out of the water. It's not as warm as Phendrene, but the ambient heat and simply something solid that I can feel is enough to calm me down somewhat. And between my large gasps for air, I hear Rue say something.

"I'm sorry."

This time, I don't hate the phrase.

Rue starts walking somewhere. "You know, I was getting a bit too emotional about that. Lin's like you. She doesn't hunt because she sympathises with the prey too much. …That means I hunt for her a lot of the time, because she's somewhat ostracised from her family. And… I just… Sorry. I didn't have a good reason to get mad at you. It was my fault."

She feels warmer.

"But… are you okay? Water doesn't injure your species too much, does it?"

"Thank… I'm fine. I… ugh… tired. I want… sleep."

"Okay," she replies softly.

It's not long before she puts me down inside her little shelter. "Try and rest, okay?"

I hear her footsteps get softer. The feeling of Rue holding me in her arms remains in my mind a long time.


End file.
